Snow
by Serenitychan13
Summary: The last few months, if that much, of Souzou Sagara. His wife, his daughter and his friends all watch as his life is steadily turned upside-down, before it must come to an end.
1. Coming Home

"Snow"

By: Serenity-chan and Lilghost (A collaborative effort)

It was a pretty night that night. The clouds had cleared out, so every star was visible in the clear sky. Snow, pure and unmarked, coated the ground from the blizzard earlier. The white blanket glistened under the starlight. There was only one thing that night that would have made someone nervous: there was no moon tonight.

Soon the clouds began to move back in, bringing with them a new layer of fresh snow. As they began to get thicker and the snow fell faster, the light of the stars faded and within minutes everything was pitch dark. Though the night was beautiful still, it was bitterly cold. It was definitely not the kind of night to be traveling and certainly not traveling alone.

But it didn't matter. He had to get home. The way was familiar, so the darkness had no effect. He would have been able to find his way blindfolded. For a moment an icy wind picked up, spraying him with the soft white powder. The snow itself he could handle, but the wind was another matter altogether. He shifted the collar of his coat, trying to keep the cutting blast off his face.

'Soon...' he thought. 'I'll be home soon...'

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Though it was nearly midnight, the young woman was wide awake. Her skin, usually a beautifully fair tone, was deathly pale and her deep violet eyes were wild in panic. For too long, she had been waiting. She had to know what had happened. Was he safe, wherever he was? Was he even alive? She fiddled with her pretty powder-blue yukata as she crossed the room again. There was no way she could be still right now. As soon as she sat down, some other thought would come to her and she would get up and try to do something else.

'I must have rearranged the kitchen fifty times in the last two weeks...' she thought, her mind slowly becoming numb.

'No...' she corrected herself mentally, knowing full well that she was exaggerating. 'Make that fifty times in the last two hours...'

She sat down on a cushion and picked up a book. Of course she knew she had no chance of actually reading it, but at least it was something to keep her from going out of her mind. She turned the pages absent-mindedly, not really looking at them. Every few seconds, her gaze would shift to the door, still waiting anxiously for news. He had promised that a telegram would come when it was over, with good news or bad.

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The harsh winter wind seemed to have no intention of doing anything like letting up, at least not anytime soon. The trees on either side of the snow-blanketed road didn't help to slow it down. Even with his heavy coat, every gust felt like it was somehow piercing his skin. In fact, the coat was more of a hindrance than a help. As more snow hit him, seeming to come at him in sheets, it soaked into the thick fabric. He felt like he was about to freeze.

Squaring his shoulders resolutely, he continued pushing through the snow. It was now knee-deep. He couldn't see anything on the road in front of him. As a matter of fact, he couldn't really even see the road. After a few steps, he tripped over what was probably a fairly-sized rock and fell down in the snow. The white powder felt like it was burning his face because he wasn't yet numbed by the cold. Soaked to to the skin, battered by the wind and exhausted, he closed his eyes and resigned himself to his fate.

Then a thought came to him. He thought of how warm his house would feel when he got there. Somehow, he could almost see it. He was almost home. There was no way he could possibly give up now. A faint golden glow shining through the darkness and swirling snow told him that Midori was still awake.

'She must be worried sick...' he thought sadly. 'I hate this. The last thing I want is to see her hurt...'

Slowly, painfully, he gathered his strength and somehow managed to push himself up off the snowy ground. The wind was coming at him harder than ever, as though determined not to let him get home. Shuddering and pulling his coat tighter around him, he continued towards that soft gold light. Anyway, the cold no longer seemed so bad. He was far beyond numb now.

As he got closer and closer to his destination, he began growing frantic. He felt as if he couldn't get there fast enough. But with his redoubled efforts and an unplanned trip down a snowy hill, he was almost there. He could see quite clearly now. The house was only about ten feet in front of him. His shoulders relaxed and he slowed down, knowing that in about two minutes he would be home with his family again.

He was only two feet away from the door...

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Midori had given up on reading and was sitting on the same cushion, just staring anxiously at the front door. The wind was blowing tree limbs down and she jumped a little every time she heard the crack that sounded like a gunshot and the following crash. She was starting to panic, her heart racing and every muscle in her body tensed.

With all the noise outside, she almost didn't hear the knock on the door.

She shook her head, almost not believing what she just heard. For a second, her whole spirit floated up in happiness... Then it came crashing back down in hard defeat as they, whoever they were, knocked again. The young woman's shoulders relaxed and she slumped forward. It was probably just bad news. Just the same, she couldn't leave whoever it was standing out there. They knocked a third time, this time sounding not insistent or brisk, but almost desperate.

"Just a second," she called rather warily - even on a night like this it was definitely good to be careful - as she pushed herself to her feet and straightening out her yukata.

She took a deep breath, gathering all her courage and strength, and stood up at her full height - a petite 5'2. He wouldn't have wanted her to cry over him. In fact, he had told her not to on the day he had to leave. She was just going to have to accept the news, however bad it was, calmly and honorably...

Slowly, dreading what she would find on the other side, she went down the two steps that led to the doorway and reached to slide the door open. Whoever was out there had obviously come a hard way through this night's conditions, so they deserved decent hospitality. The young woman knew she couldn't hold her emotions much longer, so she did the best she could. She looked down so they wouldn't see the tears she was trying so hard to suppress.

"Hello... Sorry to keep you waiting..." she said softly as she slid the specially thickened shoji aside, looking up at them slowly, not caring about her tears anymore. "Can I help y---"

Her voice cut off sharply as she finally saw who had been at the door, who it was standing in front of her. The man's face was shadowed by the eave of the roof, but the young woman couldn't help but recognize him instantly. For a long and terrible moment, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Deathly afraid that she might be dreaming, she took a step back, her eyes wide.

The man held his hand out to the woman in front of him without a word - barely managing to hold it steady as his body shivered involuntarily. The woman's short, ragged breath caught in her throat and for a moment, she couldn't breathe at all. Silently, she placed her shaking hand in his, chewing her lip and trying so hard not to cry. His skin was cold as ice. As he stepped out of the shadow and into the house, she finally saw the face she had waited so long to see again.

Souzou was home...

"I'm back," he said softly, pulling her close to him.

A tear escaped from her eye as she fell against him, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck like she had needed to do for so long.

"Souzou..." she whispered, her voice scarcely more than a breath.

Without a word, he tightened his arms around her, pressing her warm body close to his own half-frozen one. She clung to him desperately, her head nestled in the curve of his shoulder. His dropped forward on his chest, tears in his eyes as well.

"Midori..." he sighed, his deep voice a gentle breath on her ear.

It was so good to be home.

His wife stepped back to take a good look at him.

"Before you come in the house, you should notice you're soaked..." she said quietly. "Just drop the coat where you are and get those boots off."

"But shouldn't I see---" he started out, but she cut him off.

"Now," she said firmly, her voice making it clear as crystal that she would hear no arguments.

Somehow, the stern look she had been going for wasn't quite as convincing as it usually was - could it have been the combination of laughter and tears in her eyes?

Silently, he slipped his arms out of the heavy wool coat, noticing that it was partially frozen. He shuddered as icy water dripped down the back of his neck, feeling the fine hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. When Midori saw him twitch, she reached up and pushed the ice-covered coat off his shoulders, letting it drop in a wet heap in the stairwell. The jacket he had worn under it, along with his shirt and undershirt, were all soaking as well.

Midori smiled at her husband suggestively, her violet eyes speaking volumes to him though she didn't say a word. He was starting to get a little nervous... When she got that look in her eyes, things tended to become rather difficult for him. Still, he stood there completely motionless as she slid his jacket off, dropping it down in the stairwell with the coat. He caught her hands as they moved to the buttons of his shirt.

"Hold on," he said softly, his eyes shining. "I think I should see Toshio first... It's been so long since I've seen her..."

"She's been asking for you every day since you've been gone," she said, still smiling, but her eyes were sad. "She really is her father's child..."

Souzou kissed his wife's forehead tenderly and looked down into her eyes, smiling gently.

"But she has her mother's eyes," he said quietly.

Midori smiled at him again, her eyes still the slightest bit sad as she turned and led him to Toshio's room. She walked as close to him as she could, thinking of how wonderful it was just to feel his presence near her and smell his unique, spicy scent again. As they slid the shoji aside and looked in on their sleeping daughter, Souzou's expression became one of sadness.

"When did she start sleeping in her own room?" he whispered, his heart hurting because he missed such an important milestone in his only daughter's life.

"About three months ago," she answered quietly, not meeting his dark brown eyes for a moment. "The first time she slept through the whole night in here, she looked up at me when she woke up and asked 'Will Daddy be proud of me?'"

Souzou felt his heart clench painfully. Without another word, he gently brushed past his wife to the side of Toshio's little futon. Making no sound at all, he knelt down beside her. The little girl, four years old and small for her age, turned a little in her sleep. Slowly and carefully, making sure not to wake her, he eased her into his arms. He drew in a deep, shuddering breath as he held her warm little body close to his chest. Unfortunately, he had forgotten that his clothes were still wet and cold.

The tiny girl shifted in his arms. He looked down to find two big, deep violet eyes blinking up at him sleepily. She really did have her mother's eyes. Souzou lifted her up so that she could rest her head on his shoulder. She nuzzled her face into the curve of his throat, her silky black bangs tickling his skin.

"Toshio..." he whispered, shifting her slight weight to one arm so that he could rub her back.

She lifted her head from his throat and looked up at him, smiling and rubbing her eyes with one hand. He kissed his daughter's forehead and leaned down towards her.

"Daddy's home," he said quietly, holding her tight.

He looked like a man who had found something precious to him, like a pearl. Now he was going to make sure he wasn't going to lose her again. Souzou closed his eyes for a moment and said a silent prayer of thanks for letting him get back to his family.

"I missed you, Daddy," she said, her soft little voice almost melting his heart. "I missed you this much."

The little girl spread her arms as wide as she could to indicate just how much she had missed her father. He smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. Midori sat down with her husband and daughter.

"We're so happy you're home, darling," she said quietly, resting her head on his unoccupied shoulder and closing her eyes contentedly. "I missed you too."

"And I missed both of you..." he said softly. "I missed you so much it hurt."

Toshio was falling asleep again, feeling safe and secure as she snuggled in against her father's chest. She shifted up with a yawn and placed a small kiss on his cheek before settling back down. Souzou smiled at his daughter.

"'Night Daddy," Toshio mumbled sleepily, cuddling closer to him.

Midori sat up for a moment so that Souzou could lay Toshio back down on her little futon and tuck her in. He pulled the blankets up to her chin just the way she liked them and she turned a little, curling up on her side. A soft, quick kiss on her forehead eased her back into sleep with a smile on her face.

"Good night, my dear, sweet little Toshio," he whispered to his sleeping daughter.

Souzou and Midori tiptoed out of Toshio's room and slid the shoji closed with hardly a sound. They slowly made their way to their own bedroom, where Souzou intended to crash for at least twelve hours, most likely more. He was about to fall back on their futon, his exhaustion finally catching up with him. But Midori laid a hand on his shoulder. His shirt and undershirt were still cold and damp. His pants, while no longer completely soaked, had been in the snow longest.

"No you don't," she chided gently.

He groaned a little and turned to his wife, wondering what it was this time.

"What's wrong sweetheart?" he asked, attempting to stifle a yawn, but not quite succeeding.

'The two of them are exactly alike,' thought Midori. 'Both sweet as can be, but they could sleep through an earthquake.'

"Your clothes are still wet," she reminded him quietly. "And you are NOT sleeping in wet clothes. First of all, you'll get sick, that is if you haven't already got something just from being out there tonight. And second, they're cold and I won't have them in bed with me!"

Souzou laughed a little, grinning lopsidedly at her in exhaustion and began unbuttoning his shirt. With that done, he shrugged out of the damp black garment that suddenly seemed uncomfortable and restrictive. Midori was about to say something about him leaving it on the floor, but she figured just a little water wouldn't make the tatami rot. She let it go.

'Just this once,' she thought, smiling at him.

She stayed up just long enough to see him stretching like a cat as he pulled off the clingy wet undershirt. Seeing new wounds and old scars on his chest and arms tugged at her heart. One of them, an abdominal wound, was still bandaged. And from the look of it, he had done it himself instead of going to a doctor. As she lay down, Midori rolled her eyes, sighed and turned on her side under the two thick blankets.

'Another way he and his daughter are alike,' she thought, mentally rolling her eyes. 'They're so stubborn... Won't admit it when something hurts... They think they can take care of themselves... At least they accept it when someone cares enough to step in and care for them...'

The rustle of movement, the muttered cursing and finally the sound of wet clothing being tossed on the floor told her that he indeed had done that bandaging himself. When he bent to get his pants the rest of the way off, he must have disturbed it. She was going to sit up and demand to have a look at it, but decided against it.

'He's just so tired, the poor man,' she thought, feeling her heart tighten. 'I'll just ask about it in the morning...'

As he slipped under the blankets with her, she finally got a good look at his face. He wasn't just tired. He was exhausted. His hair was still wet, his bangs falling over his sweet, handsome face in strings. He was so exhausted that he had forgotten to take off his red bandanna. Sighing tiredly, Souzou turned over to look at his wife's face.

Slowly, she reached to wrap her arms around him. As he held her and pulled her close, her hand slid up to the back of his head. Skilled fingers untied the knot one-handed. Gently, she removed the strip of fabric from his hair. A few strands stuck to his forehead, still being wet enough to make him feel awfully cold. A shudder ran through his body.

Midori brushed those few strands away from Souzou's face, stroking his forehead gently with her fingertips. A gentle kiss there earned a soft, contented sigh from the man who lay half-asleep in her arms. She let him hold her impossibly close to his bare torso, feeling his body shiver again. More than anything, he needed warmth tonight. At last, both their needs would be fulfilled. He needed warmth from her body while she needed to be loved and held. She scooted down a little, so that her head rested in the curve of his shoulder, and closed her eyes.

Souzou slid his hand up Midori's side, making her shiver pleasantly. He slipped that same hand under her chin, tilting her head back gently. Her face was only inches from his. She opened her eyes slowly, afraid this whole thing might have been a dream.

'Am I just going to wake up tomorrow cold and alone as usual?' she thought miserably. 'Is this some kind of cosmic joke?'

Soft dark brown eyes shone in happiness as he smiled at her. Those beautiful eyes were half-closed, his breathing even and his body relaxed.

"Midori..." he sighed again, letting his eyes shut completely. "I missed you so much... My sweetheart... My love... My wife..." he whispered softly, kissing all over her face between phrases.

"Souzou, I'm so glad you're home," she whispered.

Slowly, he pulled her closer to him, closing the distance between them. Their breathing was synchronized, two beings breathing as one. Their breathing quickened slightly as they inched closer together. Their hearts were united, becoming one heart in two bodies. Their joined heartbeats raced.

When he could stand it no longer, and neither could she, Souzou gently pressed his mouth against Midori's. She gasped as she found that his kisses could still freeze her soul and heat her body just as they had when the two of them were first married. He parted her lips easily, tracing the soft skin at the inside of them with his tongue. Midori moaned softly, the sound coming from deep in her throat. Slowly, his tongue twined its way into her mouth, teasing hers to life.

It was Souzou's turn to moan as Midori curled her tongue around his in that way she knew could drive him crazy. The two of them engaged each other in tender combat, each trying to send the other reeling back in pleasure. He wasn't one to give up easily, indeed he was not. His tongue spiraled around hers, finally touching the tips together. But it didn't end there.

He retreated to his own mouth and when her tongue followed, he captured it tenderly between his lips. She gasped a little in both surprise and pleasure. Gasps turned to soft whimpers as he stroked the underside of her tongue with the tip of his own. Soft whimpers became deep groans of bliss as he pulled back just enough so that the tip of her tongue was still gently caught between his lips. But that wasn't what did it. Midori's whimpers became groans as Souzou began to suckle tenderly on the very tip of her tongue, himself moaning deeply.

Finally, the need for air pushed its way into both of their pleasure-hazed minds. Reluctantly, Souzou pulled away from Midori's soft, sweet mouth. He made her body shake a little as he gave her tongue a final, teasing flick with his own then nipped it very lightly with his front teeth.

As husband and wife gazed at each other through half-closed eyes, both breathing heavily, exhaustion caught up with both of them. Midori was first to close her eyes, giving a shuddering sigh of contentment. Souzou watched her fall asleep, then followed, sighing a little himself. On his face was an expression of purest ecstasy.

Souzou Sagara had never felt more at home in his life.


	2. More Trouble

Midori woke up the next morning feeling strong arms around her, still holding her close. Souzou had turned on his back at some point during the night. Now Midori rested comfortably settled on his body instead of beside him. As she became more aware of her surroundings - as in, thinking about something other than laying there in her beloved's arms - she found that it was just barely dawn.

'I'd better get up and see about Toshio,' she thought, mentally rolling her eyes. 'If I know him, he'll most likely sleep till noon.'

Still, when she got a look at the early-morning sunbeams lighting up his face, she figured Toshio was probably still asleep anyway. The soft sunlight made his unruly black hair, once again in his face, shine like a raven's wing. His mouth still curved into a peaceful smile.

'He looks just like he did when he was waking up after our wedding night.' she thought, smiling at the memories and at her husband's blissful expression.

However, Souzou was indeed not asleep. He had woken a few minutes before his wife, for once. When he felt her shifting a little, he threw out the idea of getting up and surprising her with breakfast. There was no way he was leaving this kind of comfort so soon. She probably wouldn't move anyway, so he settled on their futon, perfectly content.

When she started moving a little more, as she always did when trying to stay in bed after she was awake, he turned on his side. Her movement ceased, as though afraid she had woken him. She really was hopeless at faking sleep. He should know, considering he had done it to her often enough. He smiled gently at her, stroking her back softly. She relaxed and settled against him once more, nuzzling into the hollow of his throat. Now he had his chance.

Slowly, his hand slipped inside her yukata, brushing her bare side ever so softly. Every muscle in her body tensed. He did it again, fluttering his fingers lightly over her soft skin. Her arms tightened around him and she tried to stifle a small giggle. He pulled back from her just a little, but his hand remained at her side.

She made a small sound as she was drawn away from his skin. This was more perfect than he had thought it would be. As he pulled her close again, he nestled his head into the curve of her throat, his mouth almost touching her smooth skin. Tenderly, he started placing soft kisses along the line of her jugular vein, feeling her heartbeat quickening at the caress of his mouth. When he came to the pulse point of her throat, he started suckling gently on the creamy pale flesh. Her breathing became more erratic by the second.

It seemed that by now she had forgotten that his hand was still inside her yukata. As he swirled his tongue over the sensitive skin of her throat, he started stroking her side again. She tensed as the warmth of his hand raised chill bumps over her whole body. Slowly, he pulled his mouth away from her her smooth, creamy pale skin. His hand began moving faster and faster along her side. Soon he was holding her against his chest, muffling her uncontrollable laughter.

As she stopped shaking and relaxed into his hold, still giggling softly, he pressed soft kisses along her jawline. He got so occupied with his attentions that he didn't notice when her movement and laughter ceased completely. He froze as he heard her give a soft false cough.

'Oh boy,' he thought wearily. 'I've done it now...'

He figured he had better think of something fast. If he didn't, it was going to be an all-out war. As he felt her hand move down his bare chest, her fingernails trailing lightly on his skin, he reconsidered. This was one battle he might not mind losing.

"Good morning sweetheart," he said softly. "Sleep well?"

"I was," she said quietly, mischief evident in her voice. "At least until a few minutes ago."

He smiled at her, the kind that he knew could melt her heart in an instant. Her expression was torn for a second, trying to decide whether to continue her side of the battle or to surrender now. Souzou smiled inwardly, knowing he had won... for the moment...

"Unfair," she whispered, resting a hand on his cheek. "You know what that does to me..."

He looked into her eyes for a second, smiling at her before pulling her close for a soft, quick kiss.

"I think that's the point," he whispered back, winking at her.

She pouted at him for a second, then gave up, wrapping her arms around her husband's neck and letting him hold her.

"You didn't put up much of a fight this time," he muttered into her hair. "Don't tell me you've lost that fiery spirit..."

She didn't answer, just slid a hand slowly down his bare back. He moaned softly and froze. She grinned evilly against his throat and began running her fingernails lightly up and down the sensitive skin. Every muscle in his body tensed and he arched his back like a cat. His eyelids fluttered and he tightened his hold on her. Midori smiled again, her revenge almost complete. But not quite...

She stopped the movement of her hand and he relaxed in her arms, his breathing heavy. Slowly, she began running the point of her tongue up and down the curve of his throat. Souzou threw his head back with a deep groan, his eyes half-closed and his lips barely parted. As Midori started again with her fingernails, this time using both hands, she increased the speed of her tongue against his skin. Her husband arched against her once more, his heartbeat fluttering wildly under each maddeningly light, wickedly fast stroke on his throat.

As Souzou continued to moan with pleasure and writhe against his wife's body, she began to draw back. Midori watched his eyes close completely, his chest heaving as the rest of his body relaxed. When he had enough control over himself to look her in the face, she smiled up at him, her expression sweet, gentle and absolutely evil.

"I won," she purred, placing a light kiss on the pulse point at his throat.

The slight touch made him gasp a little and tighten his arms around her. Trying to collect himself enough to speak, he looked deeply into his wife's violet eyes.

"Damn right you did," he breathed, closing his dark brown eyes and pressing a kiss to her lips. "I can't believe you got me with that one again..."

Midori stroked her beloved's flushed cheek, smiling gently. The mischief in her eyes was gone, replaced by love. She rested her head on his shoulder, her warm breath tickling his still-heated skin.

"We should get up now," she whispered in his ear. "I think Toshio is awake..."

She lay back on the futon as Souzou sat up and stretched, watching his muscles ripple under lightly suntanned skin. When he got up, she scooted into the warm spot left by his body. She closed her eyes, not going back to sleep, just thinking about how wonderful it was. Her beloved was home and they were a family once again.

When she opened her eyes again, he was almost fully dressed and was currently fishing through drawers looking for a clean shirt. As usual, he couldn't find one. Before he could ask her where his shirts were (again) Midori silently pushed herself up off the futon and sneaked up behind him without a sound. She wrapped her arms around him from behind, nuzzling her cheek against his back. His brown undershirt was soft against her skin.

"Don't bother," she said softly. "You look better just in that."

Souzou tried to smile, but he was in too much pain.

"Midori, honey," he panted through clenched teeth. "Please sweetheart... let go..."

Midori quickly released her hold on his waist and jumped back. Her eyes widened at the sight in front of her. Souzou was doubled over, one arm wrapped around his abdomen, obviously in pain. His breathing was ragged and his face had turned deathly pale. She remembered the bandaged wound she had seen last night. Gently, she laid a hand on her husband's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

"Souzou, what's wrong!?" she asked, trying not to sound frantic and failing miserably. "Is it whatever you have under that bandage?"

He nodded, his eyes fluttering as though he was struggling to remain conscious. Midori quickly took hold of his arm and led him back to their futon and eased him down on it. His other arm was still clamped firmly around his waist, not wanting to take the pressure off the wound.

"Come on," she said gently, trying to coax him to release his grip. "Let me see it."

Finally, after a short struggle and mild swearing from both of them, his arm was pinned at his side. Slowly, telling herself not to faint at what she might see, Midori started pulling Souzou's shirt up. The bandages that had been at least decently clean last night were now soaked through with blood. Just how bad was it?

"Honey, please," he whimpered. "Don't touch it... I'll be alright once it closes back up."

"WHAT!?" she almost yelled at him. "You could bleed to death before that happens! Enough nonsense! Let me get those things off you!"

Before he could say or do anything, she reached under her side of the futon and came up with something in her hand. It was the knife he had given her in case there was any trouble while he was away. Souzou tried one more time to convince his wife that this was no problem.

"Midori, I'm going to be fine," he said softly, trying to keep his voice from shaking. "Just let me rest for a little while... It should close up shortly."

She didn't say anything, just slid the knife out of its sheath and started trying to figure out how to get the tightly-wrapped cloth off of him without hurting either of them. Finally, she gingerly pulled up the edge of one of the bloody strips of cloth and placed the tip of the blade under it. To her surprise (and his relief) it worked. Before long, she had managed to at least cut through all of it. However, not all of them were coming off that easily.

Taking a closer look, she saw that some of the bandages were stuck to his skin with dried blood. Midori bit her lip. She could think of only one way to get them off and she knew it would hurt him. She placed a gentle hand over his eyes, making sure he at least wouldn't see it.

"Grit your teeth, Souzou," she said grimly, trying to keep her voice soft and calm. "This is going to hurt... Hold my hand; you'll be alright in a minute..."

His hand found hers and held it tightly. She took hold of one of the ends and closed her eyes. One quick, sharp tug tore the cloth from his skin. He threw his head back, crying out in pain. Before he could register a second sensation, she took care of the rest quickly then looked at his face. His eyes were closed, his lips parted and his forehead shining with perspiration. She kissed his cheek tenderly.

"You did just fine," she whispered. "I'll have it taken care of in about two minutes."

Then she got a look at the full extent of his injuries. Barely stifling a gasp, she adjusted her eyes to the grim sight. An open slash ran diagonally from just under the left side of his rib cage to the center of his lower belly. His stomach was covered in blood. Taking deep breaths to keep from being sick, she bit her lip again.

"Oh, darling..." she breathed. "What happened to you!?"

He opened his eyes about halfway, looking up at her with pain still too obvious in his face. His lips shuddered as he tried to speak but gave up. Midori was trying hard not to panic. Had he come home just so he could die near his family?

"Nevermind what happened," she said firmly. "You can tell me about it later. Right now, we just need to get that closed."

Souzou moaned in pain, his breathing still harsh. Midori stroked his chest softly.

"Don't you dare move until I get back," she warned him gently as tears started to cloud her vision. "You can't die now, Souzou. I won't let you. Hold on for me... and for Toshio..."

Midori jumped to her feet and tore down the hall to Toshio's room, knowing she couldn't run the risk of her daughter waking up while she was gone. The condition Souzou was in would probably send her into shock. In a flash, the little girl was awake, instantly alert. Midori picked up her little daughter and flew for the door, grabbing some kind of coat and vaguely hoping that she looked decent. Toshio sensed her mother's urgency and settled quietly in her arms.

The young woman wearing only a powder-blue yukata and a wet wool coat along with her sandals sprinted down the road into town as fast as she could. People stared at her as she came pelting into a major marketplace. She ran to the first person she recognized, her friend Nanaka.

"Nanaka! You have to help me!" she yelled, almost in hysterics at this point. "It's Souzou! He's---"

"Hold on," said Nanaka firmly. "Let me watch Toshio while you go to the doctor. Don't even tell me why you're covered in blood, just go! He lives down that way; it's the house right next to the clinic."

Midori placed her daughter in her best friend's arms and took off at top speed in the indicated direction. She pulled the still-wet coat closer around her as she realized for the first time that there was snow on the ground. Within seconds, she was banging on the door of the clinic as hard as she could, almost in tears. The doctor, a kindly old man who acted as the unofficial "grandfather" for the town, answered the door with a slightly puzzled look on his face.

"May I help you, young lady?" he asked gently, seeing the panic in the woman's eyes. "What's the trouble?"

"It's my husband!" she yelled, making the old man wince for the sake of his already-fading hearing. "He's been wounded and it wasn't taken care of properly! He could be dying and ---"

"Calm down, madam," he said firmly. "Hysterics do no one any good at a time like this. Come on; Missy can get there faster than an old man like me."

He led her around the side of a building where an old, rather tired-looking donkey was hanging around the alley near a cart that looked like it had seen better days. Midori groaned inwardly. Could today get any worse for her family?

"Here, let me help you," said the doctor. "Hold on tight! Missy can really toss you around when she gets going!"

Midori took the old man's advice and clung to the seat with all the strength she had. In seconds that tired-looking donkey had become, in Midori's eyes, a champion racehorse. The little jennet pelted through the town at full gallop. It was as if she already knew the way; the doctor only had to touch the reins once and that was to get her started.

'Hold on, Souzou,' she thought, her mind and heart racing. 'Toshio needs her daddy...'

She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice the cart stopping. The doctor gently touched the young woman's arm. Startled, she jumped off the seat and yelped.

"Madam," said the doctor quietly, gesturing towards the house. "Is this the right house?"

She looked around, disoriented, for a second before following his gesture. The house was indeed hers. Nodding mutely, she slid down from the cart and took off like a shot for the door. The old doctor did the same, only at a more sedate pace.

"Souzou!" cried Midori, tearing down the hall as fast as she could. "Souzou, you're going to be alright now..."

She slowed down as she got to the bedroom door. In her haste, she had left it open, so she padded in quietly. When the doctor reached the bedroom, he found the young woman kneeling by her husband's side. She was breathing hard and her face was flushed from all that running, but she was relaxing now that she was here, holding his hand. The next thing the doctor saw was the slash across Souzou's stomach.

'She was right,' he noted mentally. 'He's in pretty bad shape.'

"I'm Dr. Shimada," he said quietly. "You're going to be fine, sir."

Slowly, he knelt beside the barely-conscious young man. It was probably going to be easier on everyone this way. It would be fairly easy to get the stitches in, because he wouldn't be able to struggle. Since his heart rate was considerably slow, there would be less blood loss. Most of all, it would be for the most part painless.

"He's going to make it?" asked Midori, her voice trembling.

"He certainly is," replied the doctor with a smile. "However, you might want to leave the room during this part. Some people find it... somewhat disturbing..."

She looked the doctor in the eyes, her face determined.

"No thank you, Dr. Shimada," she said firmly. "I'm staying. If... If anything... goes wrong and... and he doesn't make it... then he won't die without me here beside him."

The doctor's old heart clenched, touched by this woman's devotion to her husband. At the moment, one of her hands was laced tightly with his, while the other stroked his hair softly.

"Madam, would you see if there is a clean cotton towel readily available?" asked the doctor, his voice becoming businesslike. "And I'll need you to boil some water."

Midori jumped up and ran from the bedroom. In seconds, the doctor heard closets and drawers being flung open and slammed shut. Another few seconds and he heard pots and pans banging and clattering around the kitchen. After about a minute, some more banging and shouted swear words (he assumed she had burned herself), she came rushing back into the bedroom, sucking on her finger, as quickly as she had left.

The doctor nodded his head in thanks and began his work. Once or twice, the young man groaned softly in pain and tried to move, but his wife gently held him still. A couple of times, she looked fairly pale herself, as if she were about to faint. But she shook it away before he could say anything. Except for those few times when she had to hold him still, she never let go of her beloved's hand.

A little over two hours later, all the stitches were firmly in place. As he finished bandaging the young man's stomach, the doctor shook his head in amazement. He had chosen an incredible woman as his wife.

"You're a very lucky man, sir," he said quietly before turning to the young woman. "Madam, if you hadn't come to me when you did, your husband would not be alive right now."

Her deep violet eyes widened.

"He was that close?" she asked softly, disbelief evident in the expression on her face.

"Indeed he was," said the doctor matter-of-factly. "Now you need to listen carefully."

She nodded, her eyes suspiciously light.

"First, he'll need to stay in bed while the wound itself heals a little more," he said firmly. "And don't let him pull his stitches. That means no strenuous activity for a while. You'll have to be firm with him, but it doesn't seem like you'll have much trouble with that."

Midori laughed softly and squeezed her husband's hand.

"Thank you so much, Dr. Shimada," she said quietly, brushing a happy tear away. "Toshio would never forgive him if he left her now..."

"Your daughter?" asked the doctor, smiling fondly as he remembered when his own children were small.

"Yes," said Midori, running her hand through Souzou's hair. "She's her daddy's girl... always has been..."

Dr. Shimada smiled again and pushed himself slowly to his feet. He bade farewell to Midori, reminding her to keep Souzou in bed for a while, and headed out to take Missy home. Midori nodded, staying by her husband's side. She stroked his chest gently until he started coming around.

As pain-glazed brown eyes fluttered open and looked up tiredly, the first thing Souzou saw was Midori's smiling face.

"You're alright now," she said softly, leaning down to kiss his cheek lightly. "I got it taken care of."

Souzou tried to say his wife's name, but she placed a finger gently on his lips.

"Shh... it's alright," she whispered. "Just rest now..."

He closed his eyes and relaxed as Midori brushed back his bangs, running her fingers tenderly through his silky black hair. Vaguely, he noticed that his wound no longer hurt as much. A slim hand came to rest over his heart and he covered it with his own. Tears of joy streamed slowly out of Midori's eyes as she felt his heartbeat under her hand. Only an hour ago, she was afraid she would never feel it or hear it again...

'I'm so glad you're alive, my darling,' she thought as she placed a gentle kiss on his mouth, eliciting a soft sigh from him. 'I don't know what I would do without you...'

When she saw that he was asleep again, she silently got up and padded out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind her this time. Toshio would be wondering what was going on by now. Finding a decent-looking robe and tossing it on over her yukata, she slipped her feet into her sandals and headed back up the road to town.

She didn't attract nearly as much attention when she approached Nanaka's door as when she had been there that morning. Knocking quietly on her friend's door, she closed her eyes and thanked God that her family could stay together. She only hoped it would last...

"--- Hey! Are you still awake in there!?" scolded Nanaka, knocking on her friend's head as if knocking on a door. "Toshio's in Kaede's room, I'd imagine. She seemed to be alright after a few minutes. She just said 'Something isn't good' then went to play with Kaede. So how is he?"

"He'll be fine," replied Midori, grinning embarrassedly and rubbing her abused skull. "He has to stay in bed for a few days, but he'll be alright... But it was pretty close..."

"You mean---?" asked Nanaka, letting her voice trail off.

Midori nodded.

"If I hadn't gone for help when I did," she said softly. "I would have lost him."

Nanaka hugged the young woman who had been her best friend since both of them were Toshio's age.

"I'll go get Toshio and Kaede," she said brightly. "Be back in a second!"

In seconds Nanaka emerged from Kaede's room with one small, violet-eyed girl with lightly suntanned skin and long, silky black hair and one with bright green eyes, fair skin and a mane of dark red waves that hung to the middle of her back. The little redhead was about a foot and a half taller than Toshio, but the two of them were best friends from the start.

"Thank you so much for taking care of Toshio for me," said a greatly relieved Midori as she picked up her smiling daughter. "Kaede needs to come stay with us sometime when the girls are a little older!"

"Sure!" chirped Nanaka.

"I'll see you later, 'Naka," said Midori, waving at her best friend, who stood in her doorway with her little daughter in her arms, both of them waving. "And thanks again!"

"No problem!" called Nanaka. "Bye for now Ri-chan!"

Midori smiled at the nickname her best friend had given her when they were four. She had only done it because she couldn't say "Midori". A best friend was one of the most precious treasures in the world. That day, there was no way Midori could have known how much she would need the support of her best friend in the months to come. 


	3. Some Time With Family

A few days later, Souzou Sagara opened his eyes at the sound of a small voice asking "Are you alright Daddy?" It was Toshio, and her sweet little voice was like a sleigh bell at Christmas - the most welcome sound in the world at that moment. Midori must have been trying not to let her disturb him while he recovered. Stubborn as hell - a trait he would readily admit she shared with both her parents - she had obviously sneaked in to see him anyway. He smiled at his daughter and tried as hard as he could to sit up, trying to look as normal as possible and not worry her. He felt a sharp jolt in his stomach and lay back down, holding her hand.

"I'm fine, sweetie," he said softly. "I just have to rest for a couple of days."

She tilted her head at him, those big violet eyes shining with unshed tears - children really were more perceptive than anyone ever gave them credit for, Souzou thought. Toshio's lower lip trembled as two little crystalline drops left wet trails on her cheek. Soon, the sobs of a young child filled the room as she fell to her knees and buried her face in her father's shoulder.

"What's wrong, Toshio?" he asked quietly, stroking her soft black hair. "I told you, Daddy's going to be alright... You don't need to worry about me."

He tilted his daughter's face up toward his, gently brushing away her tears. A quick kiss on the tip of her nose earned him a wobbly little smile.

"Come on sweetie," he said gently. "Don't you remember what I told you before I left?"

Her little face became serious and she shook her head slowly.

"Your face is too pretty for tears," he said, stroking her cheek and smiling at her. "Now let's see a smile..."

Toshio smiled brightly at him, kissed his cheek and left the room, probably to avoid any trouble with her mother.

'I can't believe I was away so long,' he thought, lacing his fingers behind his head and laying back. 'It seems like the last time I saw her, she had just picked up how to run. Glad to see she still has all that energy... her mother's fire. I don't understand why she's so attached to me... I've hardly been here with her... Surprised she remembered what I looked like...'

Lying on his back was quickly becoming very uncomfortable and Souzou knew he just HAD to switch positions. He tried to turn on his side, but found that painful and soon gave up. Sleep was impossible - there just was no way he could relax. From the amount of sunlight the room was getting, he could guess that it was almost sunset. He groaned mentally as he remembered that sunset meant it was time for his bandages to be changed. Midori was as gentle as could be, but still they stuck to his wound and the alcohol she had been told to use to clean it hurt like hell.

'How much longer?' he whined inside his head. 'I'm getting really sick of this. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to look at the same four walls without going out of my mind...'

His mood and his expression soured as Midori slid the shoji open, fresh bandages and the bottle of rubbing alcohol in hand. She smiled sympathetically at him, silently sliding the door closed with her foot. He just rolled his eyes, sighed irritably and wished she would just stop trying to be so damn cheerful all the time.

Midori saw the look on her husband's face and shifted her gaze to the floor, her smile disappearing in an instant. Souzou closed his eyes, realizing that keeping that sunny smile on took a lot out of her too. His head started throbbing as he smelled alcohol and felt her soft touch at his waist. He shifted in discomfort and clenched his teeth, waiting for the sting. Sure enough, it was enough to make his whole body stiffen as his head jerked back and a soft cry escaped his lips.

"Damn it, do you have to use that EVERY time?" he ground out through clenched teeth. "What's the POINT!?"

He regretted his words instantly - but once they were out of his mouth he could never take them back and he knew that. Midori drew away from him as if she had been stung by his words, her pretty face both shocked and sad. His body relaxed, his shoulders falling in defeat. He really hadn't meant to be so sharp with her.

"I'm only trying to help, you know," she said, fighting to keep tears out of her voice and failing. "I know it hurts. I've never had anything like this happen to me, so I don't know what it feels like to you, but I do know that it hurts."

"Midori..." he said softly. "Oh honey, I'm sorry... I know I've been a real pain about this, but I just want you to know ---"

"What?" she asked bitterly.

His heart tightened. It had been before Toshio was born the last time the two of them had a major fight. Frankly it wasn't an experience he ever wanted to repeat. He took her hand in his and, though she tried to pull away, held it tight.

"I just want you to know," he said, guilt in his voice. "That I didn't mean a word of it... I understand if you can't forgive me right away, but please do at some point..."

Midori glared at him for a split second. Then she got a look at his eyes. Those deep brown eyes shining apologetically at her made it very difficult to stay angry at him. She pouted a little at him.

"That's not fair!" she said teasingly, poking his shoulder. "You make it impossible to stay mad at you!"

When she leaned down to kiss his cheek, he wrapped an arm around her, pinning her close to him. She squeaked and froze, not wanting to disturb his unprotected wound. He tugged a little on the deep brown braid that hung down her back, smiling at her.

"Where do you think Toshio gets it from?" he asked, laughter dancing in his eyes as he let her up.

She ruffled his bangs over his face, still trying to pout at him.

"You're impossible!" she teased.

"So I'm off the hook?" he asked hopefully.

"Absolutely not!" she said, smiling triumphantly at him.

He groaned out loud.

"Then go ahead with it," he mumbled gloomily.

"It'll be over before you know it," she promised, kissing his forehead gently before soaking a clean white cloth with alcohol.

Again, he could feel his head pounding and clenched his teeth. But this time, the sting didn't seem so bad. As she helped him sit up a little so that she could wrap fresh bandages around his stomach, he saw her smile.

"What are you smiling at?" he whispered.

"It's healing up," she said softly. "There's no blood this time and the edges are smoothing out."

Souzou's eyes went wide, hope shining in his whole face.

"Are you serious?" he asked quietly.

"If you try not to bend too much," she said gently. "You can see for yourself."

Craning his neck down, he got a look at his own abdomen. She was right. The wound was indeed healing. Smiling with relief and closing his eyes, he was about to relax and fall back on the futon.

"Ack!" yelped Midori, holding the end of the bandage with one hand while she caught his shoulder with the other. "Not yet! Wait till I'm done, would you!?"

He rolled his eyes and waited. In about thirty seconds, she looked him over and let him fall back in the blankets. She looked like she was thinking about slipping in with him, but stopped herself.

"Toshio needs to get to sleep right now," she said softly. "Can she come in and say good-night to you?"

"Why do you ask?" he said, his voice low and almost sounding as if he were hurt. "Of course she can..."

Midori smiled and got up to go get their daughter. In a few seconds, a sleepy four-year-old in her mother's arms was smiling at her father and reaching out to him. When her mother set her down, she was at his side in a split second.

"Hi Daddy," she said quietly, trying not to yawn.

"Hi sweetie," he replied, taking both of her hands in one of his and inwardly sighing about how small they were. "Are you alright now? No more tears?"

She lay down and curled up beside him, resting her head on his shoulder and yawning a little.

"No," she said, her words a little muffled. "I'm alright Daddy..."

"Good," he said, stroking her hair. "Now it's time for you to sleep, alright?"

She didn't answer. Her body relaxed out of that tight little ball and she cuddled closer to him. He smiled as he felt her breathing, soft and even. Easing her into his arms, he sat up slowly and kissed her forehead before letting Midori take her to her own room.

Settling back in his blankets, he closed his eyes and waited, hovering between sleep and wakening. After about two minutes, Midori slid the shoji open then closed it quietly. Slowly, she lowered herself onto their futon and snuggled close to his side, nestling her head in the curve of his throat. Souzou Sagara and his wife fell asleep almost as soon as they felt their bodies resting against each other.


	4. An Ace Ventura Joke

Things continued pretty much like that for about a week. Finally, the doctor was called back in to take a look at Souzou's wound. If it was time, he would take the stitches out today. Midori had taken Toshio to stay with Nanaka for the day and met the doctor at her front door.

"Hello Dr. Shimada," she said brightly.

"Good morning Mrs. Sagara," he replied. "I have a very good feeling about this. Has he been resting like I said he should?"

Midori rolled her eyes.

"He has been," she sighed. "But not without a lot more fuss than was necessary."

Dr. Shimada laughed as the two of them headed down the hall to see what needed to be done.

"I hope he hasn't given you too much trouble," he said, a note of grandfatherly teasing in his voice.

Midori laughed softly and slid the shoji open.

"Souzou, Dr. Shimada's here," she said quietly, motioning for the doctor to come in before sitting by her husband's side once again.

Souzou eyed the old man suspiciously. The last time he had seen him, he hadn't exactly been thrilled with what happened. The doctor had needed to check the stitches to see if they could be taken out within the week. Souzou's nerves protested painfully and Midori spent most of that session trying to keep him from swearing loud enough for people in Kyoto to hear him.

"Well, hello Mr. Sagara," said the doctor pleasantly. "I think I might be able to take those stitches out today."

Midori turned bright red at the string of growled expletives her husband was muttering under his breath. Normally he was sweet as sugar, but when he really got angry he could put a sailor to shame. He relaxed as he felt her touch his shoulder softly.

"Now you stop that," she scolded gently, poking his shoulder a couple of times. "He's right. He'll most likely be able to take them out today."

Souzou glared at the doctor and kept a firm hold on the blanket around his body. Midori rolled her eyes and smacked his shoulder lightly.

"So no fuss," she said firmly. "You're acting like a child. Just let Dr. Shimada take a look at least!"

She looked at the doctor apologetically.

"I'm really sorry about this, Doctor," she said quietly. "I didn't think he'd give you this much trouble."

"Oh, don't worry about it," said the doctor lightly. "I've dealt with much worse."

Catching her husband off guard, Midori pulled the blanket off of him. With a defeated sigh, Souzou rolled his eyes and lay back with his hands behind his head. Midori smiled at him and stroked his cheek. Try as he might to keep glaring at both of them, he couldn't help but smile at her touch.

"It looks like you can handle him now," commented the doctor. "I need you to keep him still."

Midori leaned over to kiss her beloved's forehead and smooth his hair out. Souzou looked up at his wife with genuine fear obvious in his eyes. She held his hand, bringing it up to rest on her cheek. He winced as the doctor gave one of the stitches a light tug.

"I know the pulling may be a little uncomfortable," said the doctor sympathetically. "But that's a good sign. It means the wound has healed enough that it no longer needs stitches. Just like I thought; I'll be able to take them out today."

Souzou pulled his hand away from Midori's face, not wanting to hurt her by accident. She took his hand in both of hers and held it tightly, kissing his fingertips tenderly. He gasped softly as the first stitch came out.

"Squeeze my hand if you need to," Midori said quietly, her tone soothing. "You won't hurt me."

As the doctor continued removing stitches, Souzou's face grew pale and his eyelids fluttered. After recieving an affirmative nod from the doctor, Midori cradled her husband gently in her arms. At each little tug, his body stiffened and he bit his lip to keep from crying out in pain. His teeth sank deeply into the soft flesh and blood ran from his lip. Midori picked up a clean cloth and gently wiped the small red trickle away.

"I'm almost done," said Dr. Shimada quietly. "Just one more."

At that one little pulling sensation, Souzou gave a soft cry and closed his eyes, going limp in his wife's arms. Midori was floored. Souzou just fainted. She held him close as the doctor cleaned the wound gently and wrapped new bandages around him. When he finished, Dr. Shimada looked at the young man, out cold, and scratched his head.

"Well, I certainly didn't expect that," he commented. "Don't worry about it. Apparently he just has a weak stomach. He should be alright in a few minutes."

Midori nodded gratefully at the kind old man with a whispered thank you. He smiled and left the room, genuinely glad that the small family was going to be alright. Missy looked at him expectantly as he approached the cart, an almost feline question-look her warm brown eyes.

"Everything's fine, old girl," he said quietly, fiddling with her long, velvety ears. "He's going to be alright."

He could have sworn the donkey smiled as she flipped her ears away from his hands. The old jennet headed back the way she came, towards the town. She was well overdue for a good meal and a nap.

Midori was still in shock. Souzou had actually fainted. For some reason, she found herself fighting the urge to laugh. He tried to be so strong all the time and here he was, out of it just because of a few stitches being removed. She smoothed his bangs and whispered mostly unintelligible words of comfort in his ear.

Just as Dr. Shimada said, Souzou started coming around within about five minutes. His face was starting to regain its normal light tan coloration and his breathing had eased up. Gently, Midori shifted him up closer to her and leaned down to kiss him. As her mouth touched his, she saw his dark brown eyes flutter open. One more quick kiss and she let him lay back in her arms and relax.

"What happened?" he asked softly, seeming a bit dazed still.

"You fainted," she replied, smiling a little. "But you're alright now. The stitches are out and you should be able to get up in another day or two."

"Oh," he said, still looking like he wasn't entirely aware of what was going on.

"Just rest, darling," whispered Midori, stroking his chest. "I'll stay right here with you."

From where he was, Souzou nuzzled his cheek against her stomach, a peaceful smile on his face. Midori smiled and closed her eyes, saying a silent prayer of thanks that her husband was alright. The two of them stayed that way until Souzou started fully returning to his senses.

"Agh, my head..." moaned Souzou, pressing a hand to his forehead and squeezing his eyes shut as he shifted in his wife's arms. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

"Shh, it's alright," Midori said quietly, placing one finger on his lips. "You're just waking up."

He settled against her with a sigh, his hand still on his forehead. After a while, the throbbing in his head eased up and he found that he could open his eyes without discomfort. Midori smiled at him, taking his hand and pressing a gentle kiss on his palm.

"So how is it?" he asked softly, having not been fully conscious the first time he asked.

"You'll be able to get up in about two days, if that much," she replied with a smile. "The stitches are out and you're healing up just like you're supposed to be."

"I'm so glad I have you with me," said Souzou, his words slightly muffled because he was snuggling against her stomach. "If I passed out just from this with you here, I would have probably died if you hadn't been beside me."

Midori tightened her arms around him.

"Don't you even joke like that," she whispered fiercely, the tears in her eyes escaping. "Don't you know that I almost lost you? You would have bled to death if I hadn't gone for help when I did. I can't imagine life without you..."

Souzou reached up to return his wife's embrace. Tenderly, he began kissing her tears away. As the last tiny droplet disappeared on his lips, he tilted her face toward his.

"Don't worry," he said quietly, his voice low and deep. "I'm still here and I'm not going anywhere."

Midori smiled shakily at him.

"Does that mean you won't be leaving again?" she asked hopefully.

His smile faded and he couldn't meet her eyes.

"Honey, I'm sorry---" he started, but Midori cut him off.

"No!" she cried, clinging to him and shaking. "Souzou, you can't do that to your family! If not for me, then stay here for Toshio!"

He let her hold him, keeping his arms around her and stroking her back. Her tears fell on his bare skin, bringing tears to his own eyes. He pressed a kiss to her lips, tasting the tears that had run into her mouth.

"Midori, I don't want to leave," he said, trying to keep his voice from shaking and not succeeding. "You know that. But I must. Just hopefully not anytime soon..."

She buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing and shaking more violently. The tears in his own eyes escaped, falling on her hair. He lay back, listening to her cry and letting his own pain out. His shoulders were shaking and his breath was ragged. Dark brown eyes shone with tears yet to be shed.

His hold on Midori was as desperate as her hold on him.

"Don't go," begged Midori. "Don't leave me... Don't..."

Souzou bowed his head, knowing what he had to do and hating it.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," he whispered. "But the Sekihoutai needs me. I'm their leader."

"Toshio and I need you too," countered his wife.

"Listen, Midori," he said firmly. "I love you and Toshio more than anything in this whole damn world. I love you more than my own life. The only reason I accepted the Imperialists' offer was so that I could protect you. I won't let anyone hurt you."

Touched, but not reassured, Midori continued to cry softly. Souzou did the only thing he could: he held her and let her cry, his own tears mixing with hers on his skin. Midori cried herself to sleep and he cried until he thought he would suffocate because his chest hurt so badly.


	5. Sanosuke

(Three weeks later)

The morning dawned cold and rainy. The constant drizzling rain started to melt the snow, turning the streets to muddy slush. The snow that had been so beautiful a just few weeks ago was now nothing but one more problem. Everything outside seemed to be a cold shade of black, brown or grey.

Midori woke up late to find that Souzou wasn't with her. She rolled her eyes and pushed herself up off their futon. Throwing on a robe over her lilac yukata, she stalked out of the bedroom, intending to find him and remind him about fixing the front door.

'Not like he'll listen anyway,' she thought sourly. 'He'll just take one look at it and say there's nothing wrong with it... If it isn't the door, then I want to know why I found a mouse in the kitchen last week!'

Not that Midori minded mice. She just didn't want them in the kitchen - or in the house, for that matter. Mice were cute and deserved to live and all, but they belonged OUTSIDE. She had made it perfectly clear that she did NOT want VERMIN in the house, as pets or as freeloaders.

She heard Toshio laughing and sighed, not really feeling so annoyed anymore. He was probably just telling her another one of his crazy stories. Some were partially true, some were all truth and some were so blatantly untrue that it was hilarious to the little girl.

She just hoped he wasn't teaching her any more of those annoying songs he learned when he was a boy. Especially since some of them were... less than appropriate.

The last time he taught her one of those, it had come into the light at a dinner with Nanaka and her family. Midori shuddered at the memory. Souzou had at least had the decency to look guilty when she rounded on him, about to tell him off for teaching that kind of thing to their daughter.

'Well, Kaede seemed to think it was funny,' she thought. 'And it looked like Nanaka was trying not to laugh too...'

At least they weren't doing anything that ran the risk of his wound opening again. And it seemed to be keeping both of them happy and occupied for the moment. All the same, she felt the need to check on them.

The shoji door of Toshio's room stood half-open. Trying to be as quiet as possible, Midori carefully slid it the rest of the way open with her foot and looked in. Souzou was sitting cross-legged on a cushion beside Toshio's futon, his daughter in his lap. Toshio was laughing, trying to keep quiet, and so was he.

Midori had no idea what was so funny to the two of them, but she knew it certainly was adorable. Neither one noticed her in the doorway, so she turned and silently headed for her bedroom. There was something she needed to find, and fast, before the moment was lost. She looked in the closet and found her bridal furisode kimono. Carefully, she reached into the long sleeve and pulled out a leather-bound book and a little silk bag.

After sliding the beautiful kimono back into the closet, she went back and settled in the doorway of Toshio's room. She opened the small silk bag and found a few sticks of charcoal. Resting the open book on her knees and watching her husband and daughter carefully, she began to sketch. She wanted to be able to remember this moment for the rest of her life. And when Toshio was no longer a child, Souzou would always have a tangible image of his little girl.

Completing this drawing from life was no problem. The two of them were content to stay that way for a long time. Though Midori couldn't hear what either of them was saying, she knew it must have been funny, at least to them. Occasionally, Toshio would cover her mouth with her hands, still trying to keep her laughter inside. Once, she leaned up to whisper in her father's ear. Souzou looked shocked and the expression on his face was absolutely adorable.

When it was finished, Midori blew the loose charcoal dust off the paper, leaving clean lines that captured a tender moment between father and daughter. Without a sound, she rose to her feet and sneaked back to her bedroom. With her sketchbook and charcoal safely tucked away, she went back to Toshio's room to see what was really going on.

"What are you two doing in here?" she asked lightly, one hand on her hip and pretending to be serious. "What was so funny?"

Immediately, Souzou's face paled a little. Toshio just laughed harder. Midori rolled her eyes at both of them; now she knew exactly what was going on. She was going to have a little talk with her husband. And he knew he was in for one hell of a time.

"Daddy taught me a new song!" said Toshio happily, getting up from her father's lap and looking at her mother expectantly. "Do you want to hear it?"

Midori glared at Souzou over Toshio's head. He swallowed hard as he pushed himself up off the cushion and succeeded in looking like a man who was trying not to look guilty. Gently, he put a hand on Toshio's shoulder. She looked up at him, her big violet eyes still glowing with happy laughter.

"We'll hear it a little later," he said quietly, hoping to goodness that she would forget about it or lose interest. "Right now, we should see what's for breakfast."

'I'll be lucky if I live long enough to eat,' he thought grimly, knowing full well that he had been caught. 'I've really done it now...'

Midori turned and headed for the kitchen to make breakfast. She didn't trust herself to look at her husband. She knew she would either blow up yelling at him for teaching Toshio those irritating songs or just break down, laughing till she cried. She didn't like admitting it, but they really were funny.

'He thinks he's really in for it this time,' she thought, smiling to herself. 'Let him think.'

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Breakfast passed without incident... or very much conversation for that matter. The rest of the morning went on with a very tense atmosphere in the house. Lunch passed in about the same way as breakfast. Afternoon passed and evening came, as the tension in the house grew. Toshio seemed to be the only one in the house who didn't appear to be nervous about something. Dinner as well was uneventful and for the most part silent.

Nothing much happened until about two hours after dinner.

"Souzou?" Midori asked her husband, her voice feigning a sweet tone. "Can we talk for just a minute, sweetheart?"

Souzou Sagara froze in his tracks, his blood running cold.

"What is it, honey?" he replied, trying not to show how nervous he really was. "Is something wrong?"

"Just set Toshio down in her room and come with me," she said, just loud enough for him to hear.

Swallowing hard, Souzou picked up his daughter and headed for her room. He set her down and handed her the stuffed rabbit Midori had made before she was born. The rabbit looked well loved.

"You hold on to Usa-chan, alright sweetie?" he said, smiling at her and tapping her nose lightly. "Mama and Daddy need to talk for a minute."

"Alright Daddy," she said, her voice sweet and soft as she held her bunny close.

As he slid the shoji closed, he felt his heart sink. Midori only did this kind of thing when she was royally pissed off. The last thing he wanted right now was to have her upset with him. It was not nervousness or guilt that darkened his face as he stepped into the bedroom. The only emotion visible in his face was sadness.

"Midori, I---" he started, but she cut him off.

"So what do you have to say for yourself?" she asked, her voice level.

However, Souzou's hopes rose when he got a look at her eyes. Could that have been laughter he saw in the violet depths? As reality returned to him, his shoulders fell in defeat and he looked at the floor.

"Honey, I really didn't mean for it to cause so much trouble." he said softly. "It's just, I wanted her to enjoy being a child as I did, before she loses the chance to... You know, there's still fighting going on out there."

He looked up a little to find Midori smiling at him. His eyes went wide; he was totally stunned. And here he had expected her to really read him the riot act...

'His expression is PRICELESS!' thought Midori, laughing inside.

Midori wasn't just smiling; she was laughing as she reached up to tug on a lock of silky black hair. Her fingers slipped from his hair to rest on his temple as she cupped his cheek in her hand.

"I just let you think I was angry at you all day," she said between giggles. "After that incident at Nanaka's, I swore I wouldn't let you teach Toshio any more of those... songs... Actually, I find them extremely funny... You are SO easy to fool!"

Souzou's jaw dropped and he just blinked at her a few times. Was she serious? She wasn't going to do anything? She actually thought those songs were FUNNY!?

'Ooh, she is NOT getting away with that!' he thought, grinning evilly inside. 'And I think I know how to get her back for this one...'

Quickly, he wrapped his arms around her, pinning her body against his own. She squeaked as she lost her balance for a second and fell against him. Closing his eyes to make his expression unreadable, he leaned down so that his breath tickled her ear.

"I might be a fool -" he growled. Leaning down a little more, he pressed a hot kiss to her throat, eliciting a low moan from her. Slowly, he lifted his head, opened his eyes and looked down into hers. His gleamed dangerously in the fading light in their room. "- But only for you."

"Souzou..." she breathed.

He tilted her face up toward his and leaned down again. His lips hovered inches above hers. He pressed her body closer to his own.

"And that's why you love me, right?" he crooned softly, his voice making it more of a statement than a question.

Instead of coming down on her mouth, he lifted her off the floor, so that her mouth rose to meet his. She gasped a little and wrapped her arms tightly around him. As their lips touched, their bodies pressed closer together, if that was possible at the moment. Both gave soft groans as their tongues twined together, stroking and caressing each other. Their movements became more and more heated until finally the lack of air made both of them slightly dizzy.

Gently, Souzou set Midori back on the floor. Her face was flushed and her braid had small strands that had slipped out of it. He was sure that his own face was as red as hers and that his hair was sticking out all over. Tenderly, he brushed a small strand of hair away from her face, then kissed her forehead.

Before either of them could say or do anything else, the sound of a young child screaming in fear filled their ears. Midori immediately ran from the room to protect her daughter. Snapping back to reality in a fraction of an instant, Souzou followed, not having to run.

Toshio didn't seem to be in any kind of trouble, but still she looked terrified. Souzou knelt down beside his daughter, who threw herself into his arms, burying her face in his shoulder. Before he could say anything, she began to cry. He rocked her back and forth, trying to calm her down. Midori stroked the tiny girl's hair, her face full of concern.

"Shh... shh... you're alright," he whispered comfortingly. "Mama and Daddy are right here... Everything's fine..."

After a while, Toshio's cries died down to soft whimpers, occasionally punctuated by loud sniffles. Tears still soaked into Souzou's shirt. Toshio felt safe in her father's arms and in a few minutes, her tears stopped altogether.

Gently, Souzou drew her a little bit away from his shoulder so she would look at him. Her little face still looked pale in terror, though she obviously felt safe. A light kiss on her forehead helped her relax.

"Toshio, what scared you?" he asked, his voice low and soothing.

"There's... There was something outside..." said the little girl, hiccups cutting some of her words short. "I heard it... And saw it in the window..."

Midori looked at her husband, concern becoming worry in her expression. Placing a hand on his arm and looking at him just so, she silently asked if there really could be something out there. Souzou bit his lip; he honestly didn't know. Kissing his daughter's forehead one more time, he gently placed her in her mother's arms. Then he turned and left the room to get his katana, just in case.

When he first opened the door, all he could see was half-melted grey snow. He checked along the front of the house and found nothing. He was about to go back inside, figuring Toshio just had a bad dream, when he heard something around the back of the house. Trying to move as quietly as he could, he sneaked around to the back.

Again, at first he saw nothing. But then a crash followed by swear words being yelled by a young voice sounded from the direction of the wood pile. His shoulders relaxed and he guessed it was just some little thief stealing firewood to try and stay warm. If they really needed it, he would usually let it go. He heard frantic movement and figured he should at least try to get a look at the kid. He never expected it to be who it was.

"Sanosuke?" he asked, shocked. "Is that you?"

"Captain Sagara!" cried the boy. "I have to tell you something important! They've---"

"Hush, Sanosuke," said Souzou firmly, helping him stand up. "Come with me."

Quickly and quietly, he led the boy around to the front door and helped him out of his half-frozen coat and shoes in the stairwell.

"Sanosuke, follow me and stay right outside the door I go into," he said, his voice still firm.

"Yes sir," said the boy quietly, obviously thinking he was really in trouble now.

Souzou went back into Toshio's room and slid the door closed behind him. Sanosuke sat down beside the door and pulled his knees up to his chest, still feeling the cold.

"Midori, I need to talk to you," he said quietly, his voice telling her how urgent the situation was.

Midori laid Toshio, now asleep and perfectly fine, on her little futon and tucked Usa under her arm. Her expression still worried, she turned to follow Souzou out of Toshio's room.

"Midori, this is Sanosuke," he said quietly, looking down at the small boy who sat curled up by the door.

When Sanosuke heard his name, he looked up at his captain and scrambled to his feet. When she saw the condition the boy was in, Midori almost fainted. Souzou got a good look at the boy for the first time and was stunned for a moment by what he saw.

"Dear LORD, Sanosuke," he choked out. "What in God's name happened to you!?"

The boy's shirt was covered in blood, some of it obviously not his own. He was wounded pretty badly, but not enough for it to look this bad by itself. His brown eyes were wide in terror and he was shaking. Souzou and Midori couldn't tell if it was cold, fear or a combination of the two.

"That's what I was trying to tell you, Captain," said Sanosuke, his voice almost toneless. "The Sekihoutai... they're gone..."

The boy reeled for a second before his wide brown eyes rolled up in his head and he fainted dead away. Souzou caught him before he hit the floor, picked him up and carried him to the spare bedroom. Midori took off at top speed for the medicine chest to find that alcohol and a clean cotton towel. She remembered the process quite clearly, having done it for so many days, sunrise and sunset.

"How bad is it, Souzou?" she asked softly, settling beside her husband and the unconscious boy.

Souzou scratched the back of his head and gave her an uncertain expression.

"He's pretty beat up," he said grimly. "But I think he'll be alright. We should call a doctor just to be sure..."

She soaked the towel with alcohol and started wiping fresh and dried blood from the boy's skin. It would be easier when he couldn't feel it as much or put up a fight (That is, if he was at all like Souzou). His breathing seemed to be fine and he wasn't too pale, so he must have fainted from stress from the look of it. She removed the torn-up red bandanna from the boy's head and smoothed his hair back.

'He can't be more than ten years old,' she thought, more concern rising in her. 'What does he have to do with the Sekihoutai?'


	6. Healing And Hurting

The next morning, Dr. Shimada was back once again at the front door that was becoming increasingly familiar to him. Midori had looked worried, but it seemed that she knew the boy's life was not in immediate danger. The doctor followed Midori down a different hall this time to a spare bedroom. When he saw the young boy inside, his old heart tightened painfully. The kid looked like he had been to Hell and back.

"He turned up last night," said Souzou quietly. "Wasn't inside for more than ten minutes before he fainted."

Dr. Shimada nodded and settled beside the boy's futon. Aside from being fairly pale and having a slightly rapid pulse, it looked like the boy had mostly surface scratches. There were a few wounds that needed stitches and a burn mark on his arm, but he was definitely going to live.

"Is he going to be alright?" asked Midori, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"He does need stitches in a few of the more serious cuts and there's a burn on his arm that worries me," said the doctor. "But he'll be fine once everything starts healing up."

Souzou visibly relaxed, a relieved smile coming over his face.

"Thank God," he said softly, running one hand through his hair. "I never would have stopped blaming myself if... if he didn't make it..."

Midori excused herself to find another towel and boil some water, greatly relieved that the boy was going to be alright. Within minutes, she was back with both in hand. Souzou sat beside Sanosuke's futon, going over some things in his head.

'Before he fainted, he said the Sekihoutai was gone,' he thought, not misunderstanding the meaning of the words, just wondering how long it would be until it affected his family. 'All that blood on his clothes... a lot of it isn't his, I don't think... That means...'

He swallowed hard, unable to finish the thought.

Sanosuke whimpered softly as Dr. Shimada began his work, first cleaning the wounds with alcohol. Souzou winced as well, remembering how badly that had hurt. A few times, when the poor boy actually cried out in pain and tried to move, he held him still. Midori saw the way her husband looked at the young boy, how gentle his actions were towards him.

'That's almost the same way he looks at Toshio,' she thought. 'The boy is part of the Sekihoutai, but the two of them seem to have some special bond... Almost like father and son, but not quite... It's like Souzou doesn't really know what to do.'

She joined her husband at Sanosuke's side, taking a smaller towel and wiping the dirt and dried blood from his thin face. He obviously had no family to return to, so he had come here. The look of sheer terror in his eyes before he fainted refused to leave her mind.

Souzou and Midori were both so deep in thought that they almost didn't hear Dr. Shimada saying "He'll need to stay in bed for a while. I'd say two days at most, just to give everything a chance to close up." The two of them looked greatly relieved, but Souzou had a different look in his eyes. Dr. Shimada didn't have to look twice to notice the fatherly love in his gaze and in his actions. He smiled to himself, knowing that the boy was in good hands.

"What about the burn?" asked Souzou, his voice low and quiet.

Dr. Shimada looked at the burn on the boy's arm with a critical eye. The skin wasn't blistered, just very smooth and discolored. It looked as if the boy had somehow recieved a bad puncture wound and tried to cauterize it himself. It was a serious burn and would probably leave a pretty noticeable scar, but it wouldn't cause any permanent harm. Anyway, this one looked like it was at least a week old. If anything was going to happen, it would have happened by now.

"It looks like an old wound," said the doctor quietly. "So there really isn't much I can do. I have to say, he'll probably have that scar for the rest of his life. It was definitely a puncture wound."

Souzou's face turned white as he realized why there was a burn mark if it had initially been a puncture. Tenderly, his fingertips barely touching the boy's skin, he traced the edges of the burn. He bit his lip and Midori could have sworn she saw tears in his eyes.

"It's my fault..." he whispered so softly he thought no one could hear him. "It's my fault. I should have been there..."

Midori was listening to the rest of the doctor's instructions as they headed for the front door. When she came back, her heart almost tore in two at the sight in front of her. Souzou had the boy cradled in his arms, his shoulders shaking. He was crying softly and whispering 'It's my fault' over and over, both sounds almost inaudible.

"How long have you known him?" she asked quietly as she settled beside her husband and put a hand on his shoulder.

"All his life..." replied Souzou, his voice shaking. "He was my best friend's son. His mother died having him and... and apparently Reichi was killed in the battle he was trying to tell me about... That has to be the reason he turned up here in the middle of the night looking like he'd been through some kind of war... He had been... Sanosuke would never have left his father as long as he was alive..."

"Oh, darling," she whispered, wrapping one arm around her husband's shoulders and stroking Sanosuke's hair with her other hand. "I know how close you and Reichi were..."

"I told you that when Sanosuke was born, his mother died," he said quietly. "Well a few years later there was a huge battle. As we were going in, Reichi asked me to take care of Sanosuke if anything happened to him... I gave him my word that day and I intend to keep it."

Midori smiled and kissed a tear away from Souzou's cheek.

"Of course," she said softly, resting her head on his shoulder. "I know you must keep your promise... He'll stay with us from now on."

Souzou looked at his wife with tears still in his eyes.

"Midori," he breathed. "Do you mean it?"

She didn't say anything, just lifted her head off his shoulder and kissed him gently.

"Never been more serious in my life," she said quietly. "I can tell how much he means to you."

Sanosuke whimpered softly and said "Dad?" softly as if he were still hoping his father would answer. Souzou and Midori looked down at him to see tears streaming out of his eyes.

"He must be dreaming about what happened to Reichi," Souzou whispered, his voice choking. "I just hope he didn't see it... But from the look of it, I think he did..."

When Midori touched Sanosuke's cheek, brushing his tears away, his eyes flew open and he tried to sit up. Souzou still held him down to make sure he didn't pull his stitches. He looked up at them, tears making his brown eyes seem almost black in the dim light.

"I miss my dad," he said, his voice bitter. "I just feel like I should have stopped it somehow... Can't help feeling like it's my fault."

Souzou swallowed hard and tentatively pulled the boy close to his chest, trying hard not to break down. Right now, Sanosuke needed him to stay strong. There was time to grieve for his friend later.

"Sanosuke, don't think that way," he whispered, rocking Sanosuke back and forth as if he were still a small child. "I'm the one who should feel guilty and believe me, I do. I should have been there..."

Sanosuke relaxed in Souzou's hold.

"And now the rest of the Sekihoutai is gone too," he said quietly, obviously trying not to burst into tears right then. "I think I'm the only one who made it... I can't believe I've lost everything... everybody... My dad and my best friend... I don't think Katsu got away..."

"You haven't lost everything," whispered the former captain of the Sekihoutai. "You still have me. I would be proud to have you as part of my family. You're staying with us, like your father wanted."

Those sad brown eyes looked up at him again.

"You... You mean it?" he asked, almost in disbelief.

Before Souzou could say anything, Midori answered.

"Absolutely," she said firmly.

Sanosuke didn't know what to say. He had lost one family and gained another all in one day, went through Hell and came back alive. He just sort of stared at her, his mouth open and his eyes wide. Midori leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"You're perfectly welcome here," she said softly. "And right now, you need to get some sleep. You need the rest more than you think."

Souzou laid Sanosuke back on his futon and pulled up the blanket for him. Smiling through his grief, he looked down at his best friend's son and ruffled his hair. Midori kissed his forehead lightly.

"Good night Sanosuke," she whispered, stroking his cheek gently.

"G-goodnight..." stuttered Sanosuke.

"'Night Sano," said Souzou quietly, ruffling his hair again.

"Good night Capt- I mean... ... Uh, what am I supposed to call you now?" he asked uncertainly.

Souzou's eyes widened and for a second he was speechless. A few attempts just came out as incoherent sputtering. When he was finally able to form intelligent speech, his face turned red.

"Well, I have no idea," he said nervously. "I mean... I'm not your captain anymore and... and I wasn't sure if you would be comfortable with something that would... remind you of what happened... I figured you would want to... forget."

"Actually I don't, sir" Sanosuke said softly. "I'm proud that Dad and I were part of the Sekihoutai. I never want to forget."

Souzou's face became grim. He didn't know exactly what happened, but it couldn't be good. He hoped Sanosuke had been wrong about there being no other survivors.

"Sanosuke, listen to me," he said firmly. "With what's coming, having been part of the Sekihoutai isn't going to be something you need to tell people."

Sanosuke looked up at him with questions in his eyes.

"But why---" he started off, but his former captain shook his head to cut him off.

"We can talk this whole thing out in the morning," he said tiredly. "But right now you need to sleep. Exhausting yourself isn't going to help anything."

Midori rolled her eyes and tugged on his bandanna.

"Take your own advice, would you?" she chided with gentle teasing obvious in her voice.

She kissed Sanosuke's cheek one more time then got up and headed for her bedroom.

"I should do what she says," said Souzou, sounding more tired than ever. "'Night Sano."

Souzou pushed himself to his feet and headed for the door.

"You know," said Sanosuke, his voice soft. "Even though the Sekihoutai is gone, you'll always be Captain Sagara to me."

Souzou froze, his heart tightening painfully. He turned and smiled at the young boy who thought he was a hero no matter what.

"Thank you, Sanosuke," he said softly. "That means a lot to me."

The pain disappeared from the boy's soft brown eyes for the first time since he had arrived and he smiled brightly. Souzou smiled back then turned and headed down the hall. His heart and mind were burning. As he slid the shoji aside, he saw Midori, seemingly sound asleep. All of a sudden he felt the pain of his friend's death ten times harder than what it had been.

He needed to let his grief out but couldn't. It felt like there was a cold lead weight in his heart. He was so lost in his pain that he didn't notice when Midori opened her eyes and got up. He actually gasped a little in surprise as she wrapped her arms around him. But he relaxed as she guided him to rest his head on her shoulder.

"It's alright to grieve, Souzou," she whispered, slipping his bandanna off and running her hands through his hair. "Reichi wouldn't want you to hurt yourself by not allowing yourself to express your grief."

Gently, Midori pulled back from her husband so that he would look her in the eyes. Dark brown eyes stared into deep violet still full of unshed tears. Souzou looked as if his heart were about to break. Midori realized that it was time for a little tough love.

"Don't you realize that it hurts me to watch you hurt yourself like this?" she asked, changing her tone to pleading. "You're breaking my heart, darling."

The pain in Souzou's expression really was ripping her heart to shreds. Slowly, she led her husband to their futon, helping him lie down, then slipped under the blankets beside him. No sooner had she settled by his side than he took her in his arms, pulled her in close and buried his face in her shoulder. She wrapped her arms tightly around him as she felt his body shudder and heard him whisper his best friend's name. He tightened his grip as well, now sobbing in earnest.

For the first time, Souzou Sagara cried himself to sleep in his wife's arms.


	7. The Beginning of a Friendship

The next morning, Toshio woke early. When she came out of her room, Usa tucked securely under one arm, she saw the spare bedroom door was half-open. She wasn't used to seeing this so, naturally, she went to have a look. The most unfamiliar sight she had ever seen in her four years of life greeted her.

There was a boy in the house.

Her first instinct was to be scared, but somehow it didn't exactly kick in. When she first got a look at him, she could tell the boy was badly hurt. His face was pale, just as her father's had been when he was recovering. Silently, Toshio went to sit by the boy's side. Gently, with the innocence all small children possess, she started stroking his hair, finding it to be soft as silk.

After a few minutes, he started to wake up.

The first thing Sanosuke saw when his eyes fluttered open was a pair of deep violet eyes blinking curiously at him from a pretty, lightly tanned face. Sanosuke thought he was still dreaming and slowly reached up to touch that pretty face. He found that her skin felt like nothing he had ever felt before.

'So soft... She has to be an angel...' he thought dazedly. 'Either I'm dreaming or I'm dead and in heaven...'

"What's your name?" asked Toshio, her voice sweet and quiet.

"Sanosuke..." he replied softly, half asleep. "What's yours?"

"Toshio," she said, still stroking his hair.

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Midori was awake and was going to get Toshio up. She found that the little girl wasn't in her room and was about to wake Souzou when she heard soft voices coming from the spare bedroom. What she saw when she looked in through the half-open door amazed her.

Toshio was sitting beside Sanosuke's futon, her head bowed so that her long, ebony black hair almost touched the boy's face. Sanosuke's hand rested gently on Toshio's cheek and she was stroking his hair. The actions were only out of a child's caring nature, combined with her young innocence, but the sweetness of the gesture touched Midori's heart.

'Souzou has to see this,' she thought, sighing inwardly. 'I should have known Toshio would get attached to him quickly.'

Without a second thought, she turned and made straight for the bedroom. Souzou was still asleep, of course, but at least he was in better condition than he had been in the night before. He wasn't really smiling, but his arm rested beside his head and his expression was peaceful. He looked so young and innocent like that... Midori sat beside their futon then leaned over and kissed him. Within seconds, his eyes were open.

"Souzou, quick! Get up!" she whispered, trying to keep at least some of her exitement out of her voice.

"Hm? What is it?" he asked, still mostly asleep.

"Toshio is already getting attached to Sanosuke," she said softly, her voice holding a note of motherly tenderness. "I thought you might want to see this; the two of them are adorable!"

Souzou yawned and sat up. The expression on his face was unreadable. He seemed to be torn between amusement and annoyance. Midori smiled and headed for the closet to find her sketchbook. Souzou got up and walked straight into... the door frame. Swearing under his breath, he slid the shoji the rest of the way open and stalked down the hall, rubbing his forehead.

Again, Midori pulled her bridal furisode from the back of the closet and got her sketchbook out of the sleeve. When she went back to the spare bedroom, she found Souzou leaning in the half-open doorway. She almost laughed out loud when she got a look at his face. He was grinning like an idiot. Trying hard to ignore him, she settled just inside the doorway. Once again, she set her sketchbook on her knees and began to sketch from life.

Toshio was still sitting beside Sanosuke, her hand running almost absently through his hair. Sanosuke still had his hand resting on Toshio's cheek. The two of them were obviously communicating in some way. But since there really were no words for the moment, neither of them felt the need to say anything.

Midori finished her sketch, blew off the loose charcoal dust and looked up at her husband.

"They really are precious, aren't they?" she seemed to be saying.

Without making a sound, Souzou sat down beside his wife and draped an arm around her shoulders. He pulled her close to his side and turned so that his breath tickled her ear.

"They're so cute together," he whispered, his voice almost inaudible. "I think they'll be close friends in no time at all..."

Midori rolled her eyes at him.

"Looks like they're already pretty close," she whispered back.

Sanosuke started trying to sit up. After the first few failed attempts, Toshio took his hand and helped him. The boy looked around for a few seconds, seeming like he was still a little dazed, before his gaze focused in on Toshio. His brown eyes went wide and he scrambled off his futon. Or at least tried to...

"Gyah!" yelled the boy as he tried to stand up and get off his futon.

However, what he was trying to do was not immediately apparent. It was for sure, though, that he was not succeeding in the least. Finally, he gave up the idea of standing and scooted backwards off his futon.

"I-I thought I was still dreaming!" he stammered as he stood up.

Toshio just looked on in fascination. She had never seen someone panic just because they looked at another person. Souzou was doubled over, laughing silently. Midori had her hand on her mouth, obviously trying not to laugh.

In a few seconds, Sanosuke realized he had an audience. His face turned bright red and he froze. Midori got up and left, trying to let the boy keep his dignity. Souzou just continued to clamp his hand over his mouth and try not to laugh out loud. Toshio got a good look at Sanosuke's face and stood up. She went and wrapped her arms around Sanosuke.

"Daddy, stop laughing," she said, her face in a child's version of a threatening glare. "He was just being nice."

Souzou was floored.


	8. Mostly Humor

To put it lightly, Sanosuke made things more... interesting in the Sagara family. 

To put it truthfully, he occasionally sent the whole house into a state of total chaos.

Well, it wasn't just him... He certainly wasn't alone in the cause. He and Toshio had bonded quickly and had become close friends and partners in crime. Souzou had to admit, the two of them did make a pretty good team. He couldn't believe a four-year-old and a nine-year-old could pull off pranks he couldn't have gotten away with even in his teens.

Toshio proved to be developing a quick mind. WhenSouzou had to draw the line at the flying tofu mess in the kitchen, he demanded to know who was responsible. Sanosuke had tried not to look guilty and failed, muttering under his breath that he was the one who set it up. Toshio saw the disappointed look on her father's face and started to cry. It turned out the whole thing had been her idea.

Since each of them confessed to their part in it of their own will, he let them off with a warning. He had been on the recieving end of the joke, but he still thought it was extremely funny. However, Midori didn't think he really needed to commend them on the humor of their little joke. Somehow, Souzou was the one who wound up trying to scrape tofu off the walls.

'I'm not about to say anything about it,' she thought, guilt nagging at her. 'But it actually was pretty funny... I don't think I've seen a living person go so white so fast... He turned around and that mess was flying at his head... It was a miracle he had time to duck...'

Souzou had seen her laughing while he was in the kitchen and, with his shirt front still covered with whitish-grey... Well, he couldn't really call it tofu anymore... Anyway, with his shirt still filthy from cleaning the mess off the walls, he sneaked up and was about to wrap his arms around her from behind when...

"I don't think so," said Midori, sounding bored and sidestepping away from him.

The little team continued to wreak havoc and soon Kaede joined the group on a regular basis. Toshio, the smallest and second-youngest of them, was the brain of the group. Sano, as he had come to be known, was the strength and the one who got caught most often. Kaede was good at making things, so she and Toshio often worked together setting things up with Sano's help.

Finally, Midori got fed up with trying to corral the three of them and for the most part gave up. What harm could they do? Two four-year-olds and a nine-year-old probably couldn't do any significant damage...

One day, fresh snow had fallen and it stuck enough for a decent snowball fight. Souzou was alright with it the first few times, but he was sick of being pelted with snowballs. Anyway, Sano had a stronger arm than it looked like, so he went back inside after being hit in the head from behind. Toshio followed and Sano followed Toshio. Midori picked up Toshio and carried her to her room so she could get out of her wet clothes and settle down for a nap. While Midori and Toshio were occupied, Sano approached his former captain, needing to talk about what had happened.

"Uh... Captain Sagara?" he asked tentatively. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Souzou had been waiting for the boy to come to him when he was ready to talk it out. He nodded and motioned for Sano to come and sit with him. Slowly, not looking at anything but the floor, the boy sat beside his hero, his knees pulled up to his chest.

"What's bothering you, Sanosuke?" asked Souzou, concern obvious in his features. "Is it about the Sekihoutai?"

Sano nodded and looked up at him. The boy's eyes held that same haunted look of terror in their dark brown depths. Whatever was wrong, it really had to be something if Sano was openly showing fear.


	9. Last Night Together

Souzou woke that morning with a sick feeling in his stomach. His conversation with Sanosuke over a week ago had shaken him badly. There had to be some survivors of the massacre of the Sekihoutai. There just had to be... He had been thinking about what to do for the whole week and had come to a sad conclusion. There was no more time to lose. He had made his decision and would leave tomorrow.

He looked at Midori, who was still sound asleep beside him. Taking care not to wake her, Souzou slipped out from under the blankets and dressed in silence. Fishing through drawers and most of the closet, he found his uniform, the one he wore as part of the Sekihoutai. He didn't notice when Midori opened her eyes.

Midori noticed that Souzou wasn't by her side, still sound asleep as he usually was, when she woke up. Blinking a few times, she figured that it was probably an hour or so before dawn. What was Souzou doing up this early and, more importantly, where was he? She looked around and had to try and stifle a gasp as she saw him holding the distinctive jacket of the Sekihoutai. But he heard her anyway and turned around to face her.

"Souzou, what are you doing?" Midori asked urgently.

"Nothing," he said after a moment's hesitation. "You don't need to be worried..."

But Midori was worried anyway.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the day passed with an uncomfortable silence hovering in the house. Even Toshio could sense that something was different. Souzou was trying to soothe the raging emotions in his heart. He was dreading tomorrow, terrified of what would happen to him. His heart was breaking at the thought of what this was going to do to his wife and family.

Most of all, he hated himself for believing all those ideals, for allowing himself to be seduced by pretty words about truth and justice and equality. He had been wrong to believe them and now his whole family would suffer for his stupidity. There was also grief stinging in his heart. He would only have one more night with his wife, even less time with his daughter and Sanosuke.

For about an hour and a half after dinner, he sat with Toshio and Sanosuke, telling them stories of some of the stupid things he did as a boy. Toshio was in his lap, still her favorite place to be, laughing happily at her father's stories. Even Sano was able to relax and let himself laugh. Souzou made sure to laugh with them, though he felt like breaking down, falling on his knees and crying. He had to stay strong, for them. He couldn't let them see anything that would worry them.

Midori watched her husband telling them stories. She saw right through those bitter-sounding laughs and forced smiles. One way or another, she was going to find out what was wrong. Just not with Toshio and Sanosuke in the room.

After another half hour, Toshio fell asleep in her father's arms and he carried her to her room and tucked her in. Sanosuke dragged himself off to bed soon after. His brown hair stuck out in all directions because he kept scratching his head and stretching. Souzou sat alone in the living room, still thinking about how much it would hurt them. He shuddered at the thought of pain. He didn't even want to think of how it would hurt him.

Slowly, he pushed himself to his feet, looked around furtively, and headed for the bedroom without a word. Midori was curious about this - Souzou might be nearly impossible to wake up, but he always had a hard time with actually getting to bed. He never went to bed this early, that is, if he ever went to bed early at all. She was starting to get seriously worried about him. Silently, she followed him and found that he had somehow jammed the door shut. She rolled her eyes and was about to hit the place that could make the door unstick when she heard his voice.

"Midori, hold on," he said, his voice having a very familiar tone to it. "Just wait for me."

Midori's heart fluttered for a second. Was this going where she thought it was? She heard frantic movement, like the sound of someone trying to set something up in a hurry. When it stopped, she heard his voice again.

"Alright, now you need to close your eyes," he said softly - she could tell he was just about to open the door so she did as she was told.

She heard the shoji slide open and her skin tingled in anticipation. Souzou took hold of her hand and led her into the room. For a second, she thought her heart was going to stop completely. He stopped her and let go of her hand. She was about to open her eyes when she felt him wrap his arms around her from behind. He leaned in and nuzzled against her throat, staying there so that his breath tickled her skin.

"You can open them now," he whispered, pulling her close to him and kissing the sensitive spot behind her ear.

When Midori opened her eyes, her hand flew to her heart and she thought she was going to faint right then and there. There were candles around the room, just like he had done on their wedding night. She heard Souzou's voice again and felt his breath becoming heated.

"Midori, you mean so much to me," he said quietly. "I love you beyond any kind of measure... I don't think I tell you that nearly often enough, precious one. So I wanted to make it up to you."

"Souzou..." she whispered. "It's beautiful... Just like what you did for---"

"---Our wedding night," he finished for her, letting his mouth brush her skin. "I just thought I should do something special for you this time... Show you my love instead of just telling you..."

Before she could say another word, she was in his arms. Yes, lifted off the floor, being carried like a princess. She relaxed into his hold, resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes for a moment as she snuggled against him. Gently, Souzou set her down on their futon. Standing back a little ways from it, he slowly stripped to the waist. He knelt beside Midori and took her hand again, looking straight into her eyes. A seductive smile played upon his lips.

"Midori, do you love me?" he asked, his dark eyes shining.

She tilted her head at him, slightly puzzled.

"Of course I love you," she said softly.

He let go of her hand and slid his hand under her chin, leaning in until their faces were inches apart.

"Then let me love you tonight," he said, his voice low, deep and slightly husky. "Will you let me make love to you? It'll be so good for you, honey, I promise... So sweet..."

"Oh..." she breathed. "Yes..."

"Tell me," he whispered against her lips. "Tell me what you want."

"I want you to touch me, Souzou." she said, brushing her mouth sweetly against his. "Hold me... Kiss me... Love me..."

He pulled her closer, so that their mouths were almost touching, just enough to feel each other's warmth.

"Oh, sweetheart," he growled, his voice coming from deep in his chest. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear..."

And his mouth was on hers - soft, hot and wet. Midori gasped at the suddenness of it, but closed her eyes and relaxed against him. She groaned softly as his tongue swept between her lips easily and tenderly caressed her own. She wrapped one arm around him, curling her tongue around his in that special way as her other hand moved down his bare stomach. For a second, Souzou stiffened, moaning quietly. Before things went any further, he reluctantly pulled back.

"Not yet, honey," he whispered, his hands moving to the belt of her yukata. "I want this to last..."

She whimpered softly, wordlessly begging for him to touch her. Slowly, he untied her yukata, letting the narrow belt drop. The light cotton robe fell open at the top, showing just enough to tease. Starting with kisses up and down her throat, he moved down to her collar bone. As his lips moved, so did his hands. He slipped his hands inside her open yukata, resting them on her shoulders for a long moment. As he lifted his mouth from her skin, he slid the robe off her shoulders and watched it fall around her waist.

"So beautiful, my sweet," he said quietly. "Absolutely perfect."

The peaks of her breasts had turned to tight little buds as they were exposed to the air.

"Lie back," he coaxed. "Relax. I'll take everything slow for you... My darling one, I want you to feel nothing but pleasure..."

Midori lay down on their futon, the rest of her yukata slipping off her slender body as she moved. Souzou sighed as he saw her body in its purest form, laying bare before him. Slowly, he leaned down to her chest, letting his hot breath tickle her breasts. She made a small, contented sound and let her eyes fall half-closed.

Her eyes flew open as his tongue caressed one hardened tip. Souzou teased her only for a second before he encircled the little bud with his mouth and suckled gently. A moan from deep in Midori's throat escaped from her lips and she arched her chest into the touch of his mouth. All too soon, it seemed to her, he moved to its twin. Again his tongue flickered over the tip before she felt the wet warmth of his mouth against her skin. Back and forth a few more times, he switched to nurse tenderly on each little peak.

As he made her pant and moan, continuing to nurse, one hand slid down the curves of her body and stopped at her hip. The other moved to where his mouth had been before, massaging her left breast. He laid his hand flat on her stomach and slowly inched toward the center of her being as a woman. Her stomach tightened as his hand moved over her lower belly.

Slowly, his touch becoming more firm, though just as tender, he slid further down to cup his hand around her. At the first touch, she gave a soft cry and started to pant again. He began to moan into her breast as he continued to nurse, sending shivers down her back. Gently, he slipped a finger between her nether lips, teasing the sensitive nerves in her jewel. Midori gasped and arched her back as he touched her in all the right ways.

When his thumb replaced his finger on that most sensitive bit of her, his finger slipped into her opening. Slowly, he began moving it in and out, searching for that little spot inside her that would make her lose control. Her hips twitched and her moans grew louder. Continuing to stroke the pearl that held a tangle of sensitive nerves, he slid a second finger in to join the first. His mouth left her breast to kiss her as he moved his hand a little faster. Her body shuddered as he found the hidden place deep inside her, stroking it with both fingers.

As he suckled her tongue, the combination of where his hands and mouth were started to drive her crazy. She let out a series of soft cries into his mouth as his hand moved faster inside her. His fingers came into contact with that little spot again, bringing her closer to the edge.

He stopped the movement of his hand altogether, letting the sensation build as he enjoyed the feel of her wetness. She arched her hips against him, moaning softly. He fluttered his fingers inside her, finally pushing her off the edge of her control.

His mouth covered hers, muffling the sound of her cries. Her hips arched of their own accord, grinding uncontrollably against his hand. He continued to play over that secret place, sending her high again in pleasure just as she came down.

"Yes... Oh, sweetheart," he said quietly. "That's right... lose yourself..."

As the tremors in her body subsided and she could see past the flashing colors, Midori let herself go limp, fully relaxed. Souzou watched her face, smiling at her expression of pure bliss. When she could manage coherent speech, Midori took Souzou's hand in hers.

"Ah... Souzou, you're wonderful," she whispered. "Please, keep going, love."

"Don't worry," he replied. "I will..."

He slid his fingers out of her and slowly raised his hand to his mouth. With a sly smile, he slipped his fingers into his mouth and licked away her wetness. Midori moaned at the sight. Souzou pressed a kiss to his wife's mouth, letting her taste herself on his lips and tongue. She sighed into their kiss, surprised at how sweet she was.

When he pulled away from her lips, he began moving down her body, kissing her and swirling his tongue over her heated skin. Midori started panting again as he moved lower, brushing his lips lightly over the smooth flesh of her stomach. His kisses became hot and wet as he moved slowly down her lower belly. Gently, he guided her to hook her legs over his shoulders, allowing him better access to her soft, sweet secrets. Panting became soft groaning as his tongue slipped between her nether lips and flicked over her nub. She threw her head back, crying out in ecstasy as he lapped at it with long, slow strokes.

As her cries died down to soft whimpers, Souzou's tongue moved down towards Midori's slick entrance. Lightly he traced around it with the tip of his tongue, tasting her sweetness again. Her hips twitched as shudders ran through her body. Slowly, he entered her with his tongue, making love to her so sweetly with his mouth. When Midori felt Souzou's tongue moving inside her, she tilted her head back again as she moaned her pleasure.

Then he pulled out of her altogether, kissing and caressing her inner thighs and driving her insane.

Just when she thought her heart would stop, he began his tender ministrations again. He encircled that little bundle of sensitive nerves in the warmth of his lips, suckling hard and fast. It sent her instantly into the abyss of pleasure. Her whole mind blanked out and it felt like her heart was searing. Her eyes rolled up and her head tossed back and forth as her hands tangled in her husband's silky hair, urging him to stay there and continue to drive her wild. Her body was totally unaware of anything but mind-blowing pleasure.

Souzou groaned as Midori thrashed, grinding her womanhood against his mouth and releasing her sweetness to him, love honey gushing out of her. Her sweet juices filled his mouth, smooth and delicious on his tongue. As she stopped moving and relaxed completely, her breathing heavier than it had ever been, he lifted his head from between her legs. She shifted a little, opening her eyes about halfway and whimpering. Trying not to disturb her, he pushed himself to his feet and quickly shed what remained of his own clothing. While she was still for the most part out of it, he lay down beside her.

Midori came fully back to her senses in a few minutes and felt her husband's steady breathing. She smiled sleepily as she caught the scent of her own juices on his breath. His arms held her tight, pressing her bare body against his own. She relaxed against his chest, enjoying the soothing feel of his skin on hers. Souzou felt her slight movements and looked down at her. She felt his gaze on her and looked up at him. His dark brown eyes held an intensity she had never seen before.

"How do you feel?" he asked, his voice obviously coming from deep in his chest.

She couldn't find the presence of mind to speak, so she just let her head rest comfortably over his heart. He smiled and gently pulled her up so that her head rested in the curve of his throat. She settled in as close as she could get and he ran his hands through her long brown hair.

"Midori... Do you like it when I have my mouth there?" he asked, his voice becoming a low, deep-voiced whisper.

"Yes..." she whispered breathlessly, her mind almost completely incoherent. "Dear God... ohyes!"

He felt masculine pride flicker in his mind. Holding her tight against him with one arm, he ran his other hand down her back. Gently, he brought it to rest on her bottom. Her skin was silky-soft under his hand and he pressed her lower body against his to feel more of it.

"Does it feel good?" he purred, sliding his length along her smooth slit.

Midori whimpered and squirmed against him, trying to make him enter her.

"Mmm... So good, my love," she moaned, undulating her stomach against Souzou's. "Feels like heaven, being with you..."

Souzou settled more of his weight on his wife's body to still her movements.

"Do you want it there again?" he asked, a faint growling note in his voice as he skillfully evaded her pleading thrusts.

Midori's hips twitched reflexively, pressing their lower bodies together again. Souzou's grip tightened for a second as a deep groan escaped his throat. Midori reached up to run one hand through his hair. For a moment, Souzou closed his eyes and leaned into the caress of her hand in his hair, his eyes closed like a happy cat.

"Oh... oh yes," Midori breathed. "Again... oh... please..."

Souzou smiled evilly at his wife then pressed his lips against hers. When he pulled away, he returned to where he had been, feeling her heated skin against his and loving it. Her body twitched as his mouth touched her nether lips. As his tongue slipped between them, twirling around that sensitive little pearl, her breathing turned to panting. This time, he went slowly, seeking out all the places that would make her groan and writhe, pressing her womanhood against his mouth.

"How do you stay so delicious?" he whispered against her softest parts, making her sensitive skin tingle. "I could drink from you forever, my sweet."

As his tongue continued to find all her secret places, her panting turned into little cries of pleasure. Again long, slow strokes over that sensitized bit of her brought her closer to the edge than ever. Her cries grew louder as he slipped two fingers inside her once again. He continued to tease her jewel with his tongue. Firmly yet tenderly, he began sliding his fingers in and out of her once more.

His mouth kept her guessing and his hand again found that hidden pleasure spot deep within her. His attentions started pushing her closer to the edge of her control. He began increasing his speed and alternately putting his tongue and fingers inside her. Cries of pleasure turned to incoherent sputtering words. Occasionally coherent was a fevered plea for more or a soft moan intoning his name. Continuing to drive his fingers into her core, he once again sealed his mouth over her little pearl. He swirled his tongue over the sensitive skin for only a few seconds. Then he closed his lips around the tightened bud, suckling harder on it.

That did it.

Midori lost track of all coherent thought and her vision was blocked by blasts of bright colors. Her hips bucked in abandon, grinding herself into her husband's mouth as he moaned into her womanhood. His fingers remained inside her, stroking that little sweet spot and sending pleasure shocks through her body.

Souzou slowly pulled away, keeping his fingers in her and teasing her nerves as he watched her lose control again. For a moment, tears came to his eyes and he pressed his face against the smooth, silky skin of her belly. This was the last night she would give herself to him, the last night he would feel the soft warmth of her skin on his. He blinked his tears back as Midori started to come down from her pleasurable high.

Tenderly, he started kissing her belly, continuing to slide his fingers in and out of her slowly. Eventually, Midori lay there twitching uncontrollably, her eyes half-closed and her lips just barely parted. Shifting a little, Souzou slipped an arm around her shoulders, cradling her gently.

"Don't go to sleep yet, honey," he whispered pleadingly, kissing her forehead. "Please... I need you..."

Her eyes fluttered open and she gave a small, involuntary gasp as he slid his fingers out of her womanhood, slick with her wetness. Again, he raised his hand to his mouth. Sighing a little and relaxing, he put his fingers in his mouth and licked them clean. Stretched out on his side and feeling his wife's bare skin against his own, tasting her sweetness, his attention came to his obvious arousal.

"It only gets better from here," he said softly, nuzzling against her throat. "I can make you feel like you're in heaven... Make you forget your own name... And if you say I can, I'll make you scream. Do you want me to make you scream?"

Souzou felt Midori's hand trailing down his body, her fingernails running tenderly over his skin. His breathing quickened and his body tingled all over, especially when her hand stopped for a moment to tease his nipples into little buds. With one hand, he caught hers and held it against his heart to stop her torture. Gently, he tilted his wife's face toward his, wordlessly asking for her answer.

"Yes..." she whispered. "Yes, Souzou..."

That was all the encouragement he needed.

"Then lie back," he said softly. "Let me pleasure you until you're screaming my name..."

She relaxed and turned on her back, her eyes half-closed and a sultry smile gracing her kiss-swollen lips. Souzou shifted so that his body was settled over his wife's thin form. She felt secure under his warmth, that she was safe and would never feel hurt again. He pressed his mouth to hers, slipping his tongue between her lips and swirling it around her own. One hand moved gently up her body to knead her breasts, first one then the other. Midori squirmed against her husband's body, feeling the heat of his arousal at the apex of her thighs. Gently, he eased his knee down between her thighs, spreading her legs to make room for his lower body.

"Ready?" he asked, his voice deep and husky. "I want you to scream for me."

Midori was panting, her eyes half-closed, as she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck.

"Please," she said breathlessly. "Souzou, I need you... oh love... inside me... please..."

He smiled gently at her and leaned down to kiss her, his tongue tenderly probing at her lips as his length slowly slid into her opening. Midori wrapped her legs around Souzou's waist. When he was fully settled inside her, he stopped completely, not moving at all. Soon, Midori couldn't stand it and began to thrust her hips upwards, her hands sliding up to run through his hair. Oh, how that relaxed him! His spine tingled at the sensual feeling.

Gently, he began to counter her movements, his hips pressing down to meet hers. The two were soon meeting each other thrust for thrust. Midori's eyes were beginning to flutter and her breathing was shallow.

'Mm... Yes...' thought Souzou. 'She's ready... And I'm going to keep my word...'

Suddenly, Souzou stopped moving, wrapped his arms tightly around her and turned over on his back. Midori, who barely had time to untangle her legs from around him, gasped at the new sensation and froze. Grinning wickedly at her, he moved his hands to her pert rear, sliding them over the smooth skin. When she arched into his touch, his tip was forced against that sweet pleasure spot inside her. A high-pitched moan escaped her lips and she panted harder. With his hands still cupping her rear, Souzou pulled his wife forward, embedding himself to the hilt in her body.

As he filled her completely, his tip pushed into the center of her core, making her cry out as her vision blacked out for a moment. Holding her firmly where she was, he began to thrust upwards into her warm center. Over and over he hit that hidden spot, staying a little longer each time, bringing her closer and closer to her release. Her cries grew louder and more high-pitched as he rocked lazily into her womanhood. Gently, he started guiding her hips to press down as he thrust up. Just as she started to pick up on his rhythm, he started going faster.

"Souzou!" she cried, her voice thick with passion.

She threw her head back, inviting her husband to kiss her exposed throat, and the sounds she made became more and more unintelligible. Low moans and strangled-sounding shrieks joined her impassioned vocalizations as she continued to call out his name. Her most primal instincts were beginning to take over her, taking away her power of coherent thoughts and speech. Souzou rotated his hips as he ground hard into her, creating strange and wonderful sensations in her body.

"AH!" she cried once again. "Souzou! Souzou, please! I need it!"

"Not until I've made you scream," he growled through clenched teeth. "Then I'll make you come..."

With that he thrust into her again, hard and fast. His hands traveled up her body to massage her breasts as he continued to pump himself in and out of her. Finally, a lucky stroke hit just the right place and she screamed his name out. Repeating that same motion took her away with him to dance on Saturn's rings. Midori's bones no longer seemed able to hold her up and she collapsed against Souzou's chest. She continued to scream, thrashing and twitching and grinding against him.

Souzou loved watching his wife's beautiful face contort in abandon in the throes of a powerful orgasm. A little more than five minutes later, when she began to return to her senses, her body was still shaking uncontrollably. She opened her pleasure-hazed eyes halfway and looked down at her beloved husband's face. His expression seemed torn between bliss and pain. She writhed against him to find that he was still aroused within her.

"Souzou, does it hurt?" she asked hoarsely.

His shuddering breath gave her an affirmative answer.

"May I take care of it?" she asked, her violet eyes wide in compassion as she nuzzled up to him. "Do you want me to?"

"No, love," he whispered softly, sliding out of her as gently as he could. "This night is for you... However, there is a way to satisfy both of us..."

She looked at him uncertainly.

"Midori, do you trust me?" Souzou asked gently, his voice deep.

She nodded with a whispered "Yes..."

"Then let me guide you," he whispered, his voice taking a soothing tone. "This will take care of both of us."

Midori wrapped her arms around her husband's neck and snuggled up to the warmth of his soft skin and firm body.

"I love you," she said, her voice sweet and quiet as she laid her head over his heart and closed her eyes for a brief moment. "You know that, don't you?"

Souzou stroked his wife's cheek and lifted his head so that he could see her face.

"I do know, and I love you too," he said quietly, looking at her with love in his dark brown eyes, fighting to keep his sadness out of his deep voice. "Now lie down on your stomach..."

"But wasn't that what you wanted to do?" Midori teased, earning a soft swat on her rear.

Midori did as she was told and Souzou guided her onto her hands and knees. Slipping his hand into the apex of her thighs made her spread her legs reflexively. Carefully, he knelt behind her and wrapped his arms around her, lacing his hands together on her belly. He slid his manhood in between her legs, stroking his length along her slit and coating himself with her wetness. Gently, he positioned his tip at her entrance. For just a second, Midori was stunned.

'I don't believe it,' she thought dazedly. 'We're actually going to do it... like THAT?'

With that, all coherent thought was instantly lost to her mind as he thrust his lower body forward and entered her quickly. Instantly, his tip plunged straight into her pleasure core, eliciting a half-moan/half-cry from her. Powerful muscles drove him deeper into her with every stroke, making her scream out his name and press her rear against his belly. Her inner muscles tightened a little on him, making him groan deeply and increase his speed.

As he went faster, he began to lose himself in her warmth. At a particularly deep thrust, her inner walls clamped down on him. Souzou moaned, the sound coming from deep in his chest, and tightened his arms around her, his body bent almost double. He continued to thrust, the pressure from her body creating wonderfully maddening friction. Finally, he froze and held Midori against him, his body shuddering. His hips jerked reflexively, driving his manhood deep into her core as he released his essence inside her, spending every drop in her body. At the surge of hot liquid within her deepest core, Midori lost her control again as well.

Their shared orgasm took them higher than they had ever been before. Both of them cried out as they became one, body and heart and soul, for the last time. Their bodies shuddered, pressed against each other. Souzou held Midori close to his chest as they both collapsed, unable to support themselves a moment longer. Souzou was totally spent, his essence leaking out of Midori's opening around his manhood. Midori settled under her husband's weight, feeling warm and safe. They both felt more complete than ever before in their lives. For a while, Souzou was able to forget about tomorrow as he took a few sweet moments to kiss Midori's shoulders.

Husband and wife rested against each other as they still twitched with the aftershocks of making love. Souzou nuzzled into Midori's neck, inhaling that scent she always had about her and pressing kisses to her soft, sweat-dampened skin. A combination of sandalwood and an unnameable scent that defined the woman he loved soothed his pounding heart. Very vaguely, he remembered gently sliding out of her, coated with her fluids and his own. He thought of what might happen later in the night, when Midori might lap their combined essences off his length. Under him, warm and quite comfortable, Midori made a small sound of contentment. She felt secure, like she would never be hurt again.

Souzou was first to start returning to his senses. The room around him came back into a sort of hazy focus and the bright colors faded away. He turned on his side, stretched like a cat and pulled Midori close to his chest. The feel of heated skin on heated skin was comforting to him, letting him relax his tired body and mind. He started to lose himself in thought. Exactly what he was thinking about, he really didn't know. All he knew was that he snapped out of it immediately as soft lips brushed against his chest.

He looked down at Midori and saw her kissing him tenderly, her mouth moving all over his chest. She trailed soft kisses over his skin, paying special attention to the pale scar tissue that occasionally marred the smoothness. When she reached one of the small flesh-colored buds, she drew it into her mouth. Souzou's eyes fluttered and his breath grew a little shorter as she suckled gently. He was going to turn her on her back and return the favor, but she looked too peaceful.

Too soon, however, she stopped and nuzzled up against him.

Settling in the middle ground between sleep and wakening, Souzou and Midori lay there in each other's arms, content to stay just as they were for a little longer. Neither of them knew how long they stayed that way. But when Souzou fully returned to his senses, he could tell that both of them needed to clean up. Midori wasn't far behind him, opening her eyes while she was still pressed to his body. Both could smell the heavy scent of their passionate night. Looking around, Souzou realized that it was most likely a few hours before dawn. He and Midori were going to have a long talk.

But it could wait. Both of them needed sleep. Souzou held his wife closer, inhaled her soothing scent, and let his eyes close. He made a soft, sleepy noise and snuggled as close to her warmth as he could get. Midori watched him fall asleep, seeing his contented smile and feeling his slow, even breathing. Snuggling comfortably into the soft skin of his chest, she sighed in contentment and closed her eyes as well.

For the last time, Souzou fell asleep with a smile on his face.


	10. Tearful Morning After

Both of them woke before dawn to the sounds of thunder and pouring rain. Souzou didn't want to move, but he knew he had to tell Midori his sad secret. Gently, he nuzzled into Midori's throat, kissing her and tasting the salt of her perspiration. Her eyes fluttered open and she sighed contentedly. Souzou lifted his head from her throat and smiled at her. Midori smiled back, but she saw the sadness in his eyes.

"Good morning," whispered Souzou. "How are you feeling?"

Midori looked up at him, smiling sleepily.

"I think I'm still in heaven," she said softly.

Souzou laughed a little, though he couldn't conceal the sorrow in his eyes. He knew that and he didn't bother to try. Trying to ignore his pounding heart, he leaned his forehead against hers.

"Well come back to earth," he said quietly. "Because both of us need a bath."

Midori started to really get concerned when he couldn't look her in the eye. She tilted her head and kissed his mouth gently, suckling on his lower lip before pulling back.

"Together?" she asked, teasing in her voice.

"You mean like we used to?" he asked, trying to keep his sadness out of his voice.

Midori smiled at her husband, looking up at him through her eyelashes.

"Exactly," she said sweetly.

Souzou ran a hand up and down his wife's back, just to feel her smooth skin while what was left of their happiness lasted.

"I like that," he purred, leaning down and nuzzling his lips against her temple. "I'll go heat the bath."

Souzou got up, put on some pants and headed out to set everything up. As he got closer, her began hoping to goodness that the fire hadn't been drowned by the storm. To his relief, the wind had been blowing against the opposite side of the building and the fire was safe. Well at least one thing would be good today. Soon the bath was steaming.

Drenched from the rain and cursing under his breath, he went back to the house. When he saw his wife pushing herself up off their futon, still nude, he forgot both his anger and his sadness. She hadn't seen him in the doorway, so he sneaked up behind her without a sound. Gently, he wrapped his arms around her and bent to kiss her bare shoulders.

"It's ready," he whispered against her skin. "Are you?"

Midori turned in his arms and looked up at him.

"Of course," she said softly, smiling.

Keeping one arm around her, Souzou reached into the closet to get a yukata for her. He saw one that he had never seen before, a beautiful lavender one. He pulled it out to get a better look. It perfectly complemented her deep violet eyes.

"Gorgeous," he breathed before turning to Midori. "Is it new?"

"Actually it was my mother's," she said quietly. "She said I have her eyes and that it would suit me."

Souzou watched his wife wrap the pretty yukata carefully around her body. Lavender really was the perfect color for her. He hoped that one day, if Toshio had a daughter, that she would have her mother's eyes too.

It was breaking his heart to know that he would never see his daughter's children.

'She was right about it going with your eyes,' he thought sadly.

"She only wore it once," Midori said softly, talking mostly to herself. "It was the only yukata she really treasured... Always did prefer kimono... But this one was a gift from my father. She wore it on the day that would have been their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary... March third I think it was..."

She shook her head and mumbled something about going out of her mind. Souzou smiled at her, trying to hide the sadness in his eyes. He had his arm around her as they headed for the bath house, walking in silence. Midori leaned her head on his shoulder, sensing something wrong.

'She doesn't know that I can feel my heart breaking,' he thought, forcing back tears.

Midori's hands immediately moved to the belt of her yukata as soon as the two of them were inside and the door was shut. Souzou caught her hands in his own, shaking his head. Sad dark brown eyes stared into worried violet.

"Let me," he said softly, his voice becoming a deep growl. "I'm going to take care of you."

"I'm taking care of you too," she reminded him. "I can tell something is bothering you. I can see it in your eyes."

Souzou let out a long, tired sigh, his shoulders falling and giving him a defeated look. He was the perfect image of a man with his heart shattered. Those dark brown eyes looked as if all the brightness and spirit was gone from them.

"Midori," he said, his voice becoming low and deep. "There is something I have to tell you. Something very serious."

Midori nodded, worry now firmly established in her heart. Souzou slipped out of his pants and got in the bath. His eyes were full of tears as he held his hand out to her. Her own hand was shaking badly as she took hold of his and let him help her in. They settled together in the steaming water, resting in each other's arms.

"What is it, Souzou?" she asked quietly, fighting to keep her voice from shaking.

He tightened his arms around her and guided her head to rest over his heart. His body shuddered and he could have sworn his heart stopped beating for an instant. He stroked her back tenderly, trying to comfort himself with the smoothness of her skin.

"I have to admit," he started uncertainly. "I don't really know where to start."

Midori tilted her head to look up at him.

"It's the Sekihoutai," he said tonelessly. "I have to go find any remaining members and find out what happened. If it's anything like what I think Sanosuke was trying to say... Then it is most likely that I won't be coming home this time."

Tears fell into the bath water and onto Midori's skin. She gasped, her eyes widening and filling with tears.

"But... why?" she whispered. "Why do you have to go?"

Souzou kissed the top of her head and tried to soothe her by stroking her back.

"I'm their leader," he said softly. "If I'm not there, then the survivors, if there were any, would probably die as well. I can't just abandon them."

"Oh..." she said almost inaudibly, tears escaping from her eyes and running down her face. "Souzou..."

"I really should have been there fighting beside Reichi..." he said quietly. "If I had been there, Sanosuke would probably still have a father. I couldn't live with myself if any more of them died because I wasn't there with them."

Midori burst into tears, burying her face in his shoulder and sobbing against him.

"No!" she cried. "Don't you dare blame yourself! There was no way you could have known..."

Souzou ran his hand through his wife's long brown hair.

"Midori..." he whispered.

"You can't just go and walk right into your death!" she sobbed. "I won't let you go! We're a family and we have to stay together!"

The rain came down harder and the thunder grew louder. Midori found that she could no longer speak. All she could do was cling to her husband and cry. Souzou was crying too, his tears falling on her hair.

"I'm sorry, my love," he whispered, his voice choked. "If someone has something against the Sekihoutai, I must be there to lead them. And if it is that someone is after our blood, there is no doubt that they would go after our families too... I have to go."

Midori tightened her arms around him.

"Don't say that!" she whimpered. "Don't..."

"Midori, I don't want to go... I'm terrified," he choked out. "I don't want to die. But I don't want to run the risk of my family and my best friend's son dying with me. If it'll make sure you're all safe, then I don't care what happens to me."

Midori cuddled closer to his comforting warmth.

"What about Toshio?" she asked sadly. "What am I supposed to tell her? And Sanosuke, what's this going to do to him?"

Souzou sighed, his heart tightening painfully.

"I'll tell them both goodbye before I leave," he said softly.

"But what am I supposed to tell them if you---" Midori's voice caught in her throat. "---If you don't come home?"

Souzou rested his head on his wife's shoulder, letting his tears fall on her smooth skin.

"Sanosuke would probably find out on his own anyway, even if you didn't tell him," he said quietly, choking on his own voice. "But Toshio..."

His voice trailed off and he began to sob, holding Midori close to him. His heart pounded so hard his chest hurt. He felt like dying right then and possibly saving someone a stroke of their sword. But he knew he couldn't. If he did, his family might pay in his place.

"God, I can't believe I might only get to see my little girl one more time!" he cried in desperation. "I wanted to watch her grow up and change! I wanted to see her on her wedding day and someday see her with children of her own!"

Midori was crying just as hard as Souzou, only without making a sound. Souzou forced back his sobs, though tears continued to stream down his face. His wife turned in his arms, resting her back against his chest.

"My love," he said, his voice low. "If it happens that I never come home, I ask you one thing as my last wish... Remember that I give my life to save yours. Promise me this, Midori..."

He slipped out from behind her. She turned to face him, tears still on her face and in her eyes. With shaking hands, he took one of hers in one of his. As he kissed each of her fingertips, he looked deep into her violet eyes. Slowly he brought her hand to rest over his heart.

"Promise me," he said softly, holding her hand over his heart with one hand.

The other came to rest on her belly, as if protecting the new life within her. Midori brought her hand to his. Gently, he switched the position of their hands, so that hers was against her skin with his covering it.

"But what about your honor?" she asked uncertainly. "I mean... If the worst should happen..."

Souzou moved her hand around on her belly, reminding her of the child he would never see.

"I'm giving myself up to save your lives," he said, his voice firm and choked at the same time. "If I die, I want to go knowing that the people I love can carry on."

"Souzou..." she said softly.

Midori was silent. Her face held a look of absolute despair. There were tears on her face, but not in her eyes. The pain in her heart was beyond tears.

"I can't live without you," she whispered.

Souzou's arms tightened convulsively around her. His face showed all the pain in his mind, body and heart as he brought her hand from his heart to his face. He kissed her hand again and again, tears falling from his eyes the entire time.

"Yes you can," he said, choking on his own breath. "You'll be fine, I promise. And remember this, if nothing else; I won't be gone, not really."

"But how can that be?" asked Midori, her voice almost inaudible.

He leaned in close, his eyes never leaving hers, until their faces were only inches apart.

"I won't be gone as long as I'm in your heart," he said softly. "I hope I always will be..."

Midori tilted her head just right, so that their mouths met, soft and gentle. They could taste each other's tears. Souzou pulled his wife close to his body, pressing them as close together as they could get. As they pulled away from each other, Midori somehow managed a small smile.

"You will always be in my heart," she whispered. "And don't you forget it."

"I won't," he promised, gently taking her in his arms and getting out of the bath.

They dried off and dressed in silence. Souzou slipped an arm around Midori's shoulders and guided her back to the house. He barely noticed that the rain had stopped and the clouds cleared out. It was only a few minutes before sunrise, so they left the door open and stood in the stairwell to wait. They wanted to watch the sunrise together for the last time. Midori rested her head on her husband's bare shoulder, letting the feel of his skin against her cheek soothe her.

Together, they watched a crimson sun ascend the horizon, making the snow on the ground glow red. Soon, Midori couldn't look at it anymore, tilting her head to look up at her husband. Souzou's face was deathly white and his dark brown eyes were wide in fear. Resting her hand over his heart, she felt it racing beneath her touch. The sight of blood-red snow had Souzou paralyzed in terror, his blood like ice in his veins.

Midori felt like she was going to be sick. She buried her face in Souzou's shoulder, wrapped her arms around him and let herself shake. Fear and grief and desperation held her heart in an unbreakable grip.

"Please Souzou," she begged. "Don't go... I lost my father when I was thirteen, but at least I was old enough to have happy memories. Toshio is only four. I don't want her to grow up without a father's love."

Souzou took a shuddering breath and fell on his knees, his heart and spirit broken. Midori knelt beside him and slipped her arms around his neck. The former captain of the Sekihoutai, always so strong in mind and body, now allowed himself to seem weak and helpless. Midori found that all she could do was whisper 'I love you' over and over. Souzou rocked back and forth, trying to ease the pain in his chest. He felt like he was already dead inside, thinking he had failed as a husband and father.

"I'm sorry..." he choked out.

"Souzou, what are you saying?" asked Midori, her voice soft. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"You're right. Toshio shouldn't have to go without a father's love," he said hoarsely. "So Midori, do what's best for her."

Midori's eyes widened in horror and she pulled him close to her.

"Souzou, you aren't saying..." she trailed off.

"Midori, you'll be fine without me," he said sadly. "Think about Toshio. Do what you think is best for her. And for Sanosuke."

Midori kissed him gently.

"Souzou..." she whispered tearfully.

She drew back a little, looking at her husband. Her heart was being crushed at the sight of him, down on his knees, a broken man. She took hold of his hand and leaned in close to him. With her other hand, she tilted his head up so that he would look her in the eyes.

"Souzou please," she begged. "I understand that you have to go, but don't break my heart before you have to..."

Souzou forced back his sobs, making his chest hurt worse than ever. Slowly, feeling his whole body shaking, he pushed himself to his feet. Gently, Midori reached up and brushed his damp bangs off his face, giving him a sad smile. It lasted only seconds before despair and grief darkened her face. Her gaze fell on the scar that cut wickedly across his stomach. Tenderly, her touch light as a feather, she traced the smooth scar tissue with her fingers.

"You never did tell me how you got this," she said quietly.

Souzou closed his eyes and covered her hand with his.

"It was just a lucky hit," he said softly. "Don't worry about it."

A tear escaped from Midori's eye as she looked up and gave him another sad smile.

"That's just like you," she teased half-heartedly. "You almost die and you brush it off like it's just a surface scratch... I'll never understand it... But I love you anyway..."

Souzou kissed her forehead and smiled at her.

"Glad to hear it," he said sweetly as he turned and headed down the hall to their bedroom to find a shirt.

In about a minute, he came back wearing the shirt and jacket that were part of the uniform of the Sekihoutai. The ends of his red bandanna hung down his back. He wrapped his arms around his wife and she again laid her head over his heart. She smiled sadly against his chest. She had always thought he looked so handsome in that uniform.

For a long time, neither of them said anything. A young boy's voice brought them both out of their reveries. They turned to find Sanosuke behind them.

"Captain Sagara?" he asked tentatively, his voice shaking. "What's going to happen?"

Souzou went up the two stairs out of the doorway, a haunted look in his eyes. Slowly, he headed for the kitchen and motioned for Sanosuke to follow him. Midori followed both of them. She knew there were no words she could say that would comfort them. But at least she could offer a shoulder to cry on. They both looked like they would need it.

Souzou and Sanosuke were sitting across from each other, both with extremely grave expressions on their faces. Souzou's eyes were bloodshot and Sanosuke's face was a mix of grief, shock and terror. Silently, Midori went and sat beside her husband, holding her arms out to Sanosuke. The boy tried to get up, shaking, and fell forward against her. She held him close as he cried into her shoulder. Souzou laid a comforting hand on his back.

"No... no... don't..." came Sanosuke's hoarse, barely-coherent whisper.

Midori rocked the sobbing boy in her arms until his cries began to die down. After a few minutes, his tears ceased altogether. He lifted his head from Midori's shoulder and stared at his former captain. His dark brown eyes looked haunted, like something inside his heart was dead.

"I-I meant wh-what I said," he stammered, his voice soft but determined. "N-no matter what, you... Y-You'll always be Captain Sagara... to me..."

Souzou's hand moved to Sanosuke's shoulder and his grip tightened as his heart clenched. The boy took a deep, shuddering breath and continued to look Souzou in the eyes.

"And you'll always be my hero," he said firmly.

"Sanosuke," whispered Souzou hoarsely. "Come here..."

He pulled his best friend's son into his arms and held him close, as he had when the boy turned up that night. Without thinking, Sanosuke threw his arms around his hero and buried his face in his chest. Gently, Souzou began stroking the boy's back, trying to ease his pain. Eventually Sanosuke's cries became harsh and strangled. If he didn't stop soon, he would make himself sick. Souzou drew him back to look him in the eye. He didn't know why, but somehow he was able to smile.

"Sano," he said gently. "I don't know what's going to happen to me. Whatever it is, I can't change it. If something happens and I don't come back, know that as long as you remember, I'll never really be gone."

"I'm still going to miss you," said Sanosuke, his voice choked.

"I'll miss you too," whispered Souzou. "But look at it this way, there's always a chance that I might come back. Either way, I need to ask you to do something for me."

"What is it?" asked Sanosuke.

Souzou looked straight into the boy's eyes, making it clear that he was serious.

"Look out for Toshio," he said softly. "This is going to be hard on her. She trusts you and she'll need you to help take care of her. Will you do that for me, Sanosuke?"

Sanosuke nodded, tears still streaming down his face.

Souzou smiled at him as a tear ran down his own cheek.

"I'll have to go soon," he said quietly to Midori and Sanosuke. "I know I'll be going from here to Tokyo and from there to Kyoto. I'm not quite sure how long it'll take to get there and... there's a stop I'll be making along the way."

"What is it?" asked Midori.

Souzou looked away, his heart tightening painfully.

"I have to say goodbye to my sister," he said, his voice soft and sad.

"Reika?" asked Midori, concern obvious in her voice.

Souzou nodded, his arms unconsciously tightening for a moment around Sanosuke. The boy's breathing was easing up, sounding less strangled. Gently, Souzou gave him back to Midori and pushed himself to his feet. Without a word, he left the kitchen. Midori got up, holding Sanosuke in her arms, and followed him.

Just like she expected, Midori found Souzou leaning in the open doorway of Toshio's room. Still not saying a word, he went in to sit by his daughter's side. Tenderly, he brushed a silky black strand away from her face. The little girl made a sleepy noise and shifted a bit. Smiling sadly, her father took her in his arms. Midori didn't want to disturb them so she turned and headed back to the living room.

Still mostly asleep, Toshio snuggled in closer to the warmth of Souzou's chest. Souzou found himself fighting back tears once more as he looked down at his little girl's smile. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and her big violet eyes fluttered open.

"'Morning, sweetie," he said softly. "How's my girl?"

Toshio yawned and nuzzled into the curve of his shoulder.

"'Morning Daddy," she said, her voice sweet and quiet. "I'm fine."

Gently, Souzou shifted her weight to one arm so that he could stroke her cheek as he looked down at her.

"Toshio," he said, trying hard not to choke. "Daddy has to leave again."

The little girl's smile faded and she looked up at Souzou with an expression that tore at his heart. Her tiny hands tightened into fists in the fabric of his shirt.

"Why?" she asked, her voice wavering.

Souzou's arms tightened reflexively around his daughter and he kissed her cheek softly.

"I'm just going to Kyoto," he said quietly, trying to smile at her and reassure her. "You know I've been there before."

He could tell she was trying hard not to cry when he heard her soft little whimper.

"How long will you be gone this time?" she asked, her big violet eyes full of tears.

Souzou guided his daughter's head to rest over his heart. Gently, he ran his hand through her silky black hair. He almost couldn't bring himself to answer.

"I don't know," he whispered. "But no matter how long I'm gone, I want you to know something."

"What is it?" Toshio whispered back.

"Toshio, look at me," he said quietly.

Bright violet eyes looked into dark brown as she pulled back from her father's shoulder and tilted her face up to his. Souzou found himself once more fighting back tears. No matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise, he felt in his heart that he wouldn't be coming home.

"I love you, Toshio," he said softly. "And you'll always be my little girl."

Toshio smiled at him and leaned up to kiss his cheek. Then she settled back in his arms, cuddling against his chest. Souzou carried her out of her room and down the hall to where Midori and Sanosuke were.

Midori choked on her own breath when she saw Toshio nestled in her father's arms and smiling as if she couldn't be happier. It was obvious that she felt she was in the safest place in the world. Sanosuke quickly swiped a hand over his eyes, trying to hide his tears.

Souzou actually managed to smile as he gave Toshio to her mother before turning and heading back down the hall. In about half a minute, he was back with Usa in his hand. He placed the worn lavender rabbit in his daughter's arms, smiled at her, and kissed her forehead.

"If you ever feel sad or lonely," he said quietly. "You hold onto Usa-chan, alright? He'll give you a hug and help you feel better when I can't be there."

Toshio smiled at him, held onto her well-loved rabbit, and settled quietly in her mother's arms. In a few seconds, Midori had to set her down. Immediately, the tiny girl latched onto Sanosuke. He smiled sadly at her and squeezed her hand.

Souzou bent down on one knee in front of his best friend's son. He smiled, though his eyes were sad, and pulled Sanosuke into his arms, holding him close. When he released his hold and stood up, he placed his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"Sanosuke, do you remember what I asked you to do for me?" he asked, smiling gently.

Sanosuke nodded mutely. He didn't trust himself to speak. Souzou's hands tightened on his shoulders for a moment.

"Take care of Toshio when I'm not here," he said quietly. "Your father would be very proud of you right now... I know I'm proud of you..."

With a father's tenderness, he ruffled Sanosuke's shaggy brown hair. Gently, he pulled the boy close to him for one last hug. Whan Sanosuke reluctantly pulled back, Souzou looked down at his face. Though there were still tears in his dark brown eyes, Sanosuke was smiling bravely.

"Don't worry," he said, wrapping an arm around Toshio's shoulders and pulling her close to his side. "I'll take care of her."

Souzou smiled at the young boy who meant so much to him, whispering his thanks before turning back to Midori.

"We should talk outside," he said quietly.

Midori nodded, forcing back her tears, and headed for the door, stopping at the steps. Souzou turned back around to say his final goodbyes. This time he went to Sanosuke first. He put a hand on the boy's shoulder and looked him in the eye.

"I don't deserve to be called your hero," he said softly. "But I'm touched that you think so highly of me."

Sanosuke tried to speak, but the words caught in his throat. One little tear ran down his cheek. Souzou brushed the tiny drop away and gave the boy a sad smile.

"Goodbye Sanosuke," he said quietly.

"Goodbye Captain Sagara," whispered Sanosuke, unable to keep his voice from shaking.

Souzou blinked back tears as he took his daughter in his arms for the last time. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hid her face in the curve of his throat. It was all he could do not to break down when he felt her tears on his skin.

"Toshio, even when I can't be here, remember that you'll always be your Daddy's little girl," he said softly, trying and failing to prevent tears from escaping his eyes. "No matter how far away I am, you're always in my heart. I love you, Toshio."

Though he kept his sobs silent, there was no way he could prevent his tears from falling on his daughter's hair. Gently, he ran his hand through the soft black silk, so very like his own. Midori quietly turned and headed down the hall to her bedroom. With shaking hands, she pulled her sketchbook from the sleeve of her bridal furisode. The kimono she had worn when she had become Souzou's wife. Tears fell on the beautiful silk sleeve. When she came back, Toshio was cradled in her father's arms, her head resting over his heart. Her pretty little face was streaming with tears and her violet eyes sparkled with tears yet to be shed.

Even though her hands were shaking and her eyes clouded by tears, Midori set her sketchbook on her knees and started sketching. Souzou had tears on his face, not hiding them or even bothering to wipe them away. He couldn't take his eyes off his daughter, memorizing the sad picture her expression made.

Toshio's small face was sad, her bright violet eyes full of tears. She had never seen her father cry before. She closed her eyes as he tenderly stroked her cheek, hoping this was all a bad dream. Though he was shaking with the force of his emotion, he paid no attention. He was more concerned about brushing his daughter's tears away.

"Toshio, please don't cry," he whispered, trying to smile through his pain. "It doesn't suit you. Your face is too pretty for tears..."

Midori smiled, the expression both sad and bitter.

'I don't understand it,' she thought angrily. 'Toshio loves him more than anyone else in the world. She's her daddy's girl. Why does he have to be taken away from her?"

Souzou shifted Toshio up closer to him. Father and daughter shared their last moments together with tears in their eyes. Midori finished her sketch and shut her sketchbook as a single tear fell from her eye.

"Remember, Toshio," whispered Souzou. "You'll always be Daddy's girl."

Toshio smiled and kissed her father on the cheek. Souzou pressed a tender kiss to her forehead.

"Goodbye sweetheart," he said softly.

He gave his daughter one last hug and set her down beside Sanosuke. He gave both of them a final smile and turned to Midori. He took her hand and both of them stepped outside.

As soon as the shoji closed, Midori fell against her husband, sobbing hysterically. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, resting his cheek on top of her head and rocking her back and forth. She clung to him in desperation as she cried into his chest. His hold on her was just as desperate.

"Midori, I love you so much," whispered Souzou. "More than life itself... Don't you ever forget that. I know you can find the strength to carry on. You are a strong woman, the strongest I have ever seen. I love your spirit. Don't lose that fire because of me."

"I don't see how I can make it without you," sobbed Midori. "Even when you were away with the Sekihoutai, I at least had hope. You promised to come home and you always did. But I can't stand the thought of you never coming home."

Gently, Souzou pulled back from his wife and tilted her head up so she could look him in the eyes. There were tears streaming down Midori's face. Smiling at her, Souzou leaned down to kiss her tears away. With each tender caress, another tiny crystalline drop disappeared on his lips. At just the right moment, Midori tilted her head so that their mouths met each other again. Once more, they tasted each other's tears. Reluctantly they pulled away from each other. Souzou leaned his forehead against Midori's.

"You're beautiful," he purred. "Just as beautiful as the day I met you."

"You still remember that?" she asked, a faint blush staining her cheeks.

Souzou smiled at her and touched the tips of their noses together.

"How could I forget?" he asked, laughter in his voice. "I had been trying for so long to work up the nerve to talk to you."

"Why did you hesitate?" asked Midori, genuinely curious.

Souzou gave her a quick kiss and a little squeeze.

"I was just shy," he said softly.

Midori looked at him skeptically.

"You? Shy?" she asked, one eyebrow raised.

Souzou kissed his wife's cheek and looked down at her with sad eyes.

"I didn't even know your name and I figured you wouldn't want anything to do with me," he said sadly. "I mean, I was nothing but trouble for most people. A walking disaster. I figured I had no chance."

"Would that explain why you were in a tree that just happened to be right next to where I always went swimming with Nanaka?" asked Midori with teasing in her voice. "Would that also explain why, the next day, I tried to talk to you and you turned bright red and ran?"

Souzou turned several shades of red. Even his ears were pink.

'I can't believe I did that,' he thought embarrassedly.

"I can explain that..." he ground out between clenched teeth. "It was Reichi's idea..."

"Reichi's idea?" asked Midori, sounding like she didn't believe him in the least.

'This should be interesting,' she thought.

Souzou couldn't meet his wife's eyes and his face was still red.

"He figured out that I was gone on you," he said quietly. "When I said I was too nervous to talk to you, he got the idea for me to... Well, you know... Damn, I thought I was a dead man when that branch snapped..."

Midori laughed a little. She remembered the whole thing like it was yesterday. Souzou slowly looked into her deep violet eyes.

"It was just luck that you had gone by yourself that day," he said in a voice barely above a whisper.

"What?" shrieked Midori. "You mean you did that more than once?"

Souzou eased his arms around his wife's waist and pulled her impossibly close to him, smiling seductively.

"I was only sixteen," he growled into her hair. "Of course I did."

Midori sighed and shook her head, nuzzling against his shoulder.

"You're impossible," she said softly, sighing once more. "But that's why I love you."

"Do you remember what happened the next day?" he asked with teasing in his voice.

Midori slid a hand up to run through his hair.

"You mean how I ran into you, trying to talk to you, and you turned and ran?" she asked. "Straight into a wall?"

Souzou turned red again.

"Alright, so that wasn't exactly a brilliant idea," he said under his breath. "I just thought you were going to tell me off for watching you."

"Well, I was," Midori said sweetly. "But then I saw just how cute you were. Anyway, everything turned out alright in the end, right?"

She reached up and wrapped her arms around Souzou's neck.

"I'm so glad I was able to spend what was left of my life with you," he whispered. "I only wish my life had been longer. Even so, I can promise you that my spirit will be with you always. Forever and a day."

Tenderly, he pressed his mouth against Midori's. Her grip on him tightened and a single tear escaped her eye. Slowly, giving her plenty of time to enjoy it, Souzou trailed his tongue along her lips. Parting them gently, he slipped his tongue into her mouth. Her tongue curled around his, knowing how to drive him wild. Their kiss became deeper and more desperate. But no matter how fierce their passion became, their caresses remained soft and tender.

Finally the need for air forced them to separate.

"Do you remember our first kiss?" asked Midori, her voice soft as she ran a finger along her beloved's lips.

"I certainly do," he whispered in her ear. "It was snowing that day too..."

Midori could see it in her mind.

"Out in that beautiful garden," she breathed, closing her eyes and resting her head on his shoulder. "All those frozen ponds... The snow in the sakura trees... That little hidden corner by one of the ponds..."

"Don't forget the lanterns," said Souzou. "And that little stone bench under the tree..."

"Especially the little stone bench," whispered Midori, running her fingers through his hair and kissing his cheek softly.

Souzou held his wife close as that snowy day, so many years ago, played through his head. 


	11. First Kiss Flashback

The wind picked up a little, making the fresh white powder swirl around them. The long sleeves of the sixteen-year-old girl's furisode, a beautiful dark green one, floated on the snowy breeze. She felt his hand warming hers, looked up at him and blushed. The seventeen-year-old squeezed his love's hand and smiled at her.

"Are you ready?" he asked, excitement barely hidden in his voice.

Midori looked up at him through her eyelashes, smiling shyly.

"What is it?" she asked sweetly.

Souzou gave her a wry grin and tugged on the little braid that helped frame her pretty face.

"If I told you, would it be a surprise anymore?" he teased, winking at her.

She pouted cutely at him, still looking up through smoky black eyelashes.

"Would you at least give me a hint?" she whined, trying for sad puppy-eyes.

"Absolutely not!" exclaimed Souzou, tugging on her braid again and getting swatted for it. "You're too good at guessing!"

He squeezed her hand again and smiled at her, the kind he knew could melt her heart.

"Just close your eyes," he said in a half-whisper. "And trust me."

Midori raised an eyebrow at him, but did as he asked.

"Now let me lead you," he said softly.

He led her slowly down an unfamiliar path, never letting go of her hand. Midori was nervous at first, but nervousness turned to anticipation very quickly. Gently, Souzou guided her to duck under a barrier and started going a little faster.

"Souzou, what are you doing?" she whined, trying for the pity angle. "Where are we going?"

"Hold on," he said patiently. "We're almost there."

After a few sharp turns and another barrier, Souzou stopped.

"Stay here for a second," he said softly. "And don't open your eyes yet."

Midori pouted at him again, but kept her eyes closed and stayed where she was. Souzou carefully brushed the snow off a little stone bench under a snow-covered sakura tree. The frozen pond sparkled like a diamond in the pale winter sunlight. Lanterns glowed orange, coloring the snow around them. Gently, he took hold of Midori's hand and led her to the little stone bench.

"Now sit down," he said. "And keep your eyes closed."

Midori sat down on the bench like he asked, though now thoroughly confused. Souzou settled next to her, slipped one arm around her shoulders, and pulled her close to his side. He leaned his head to the side to rest against hers. He hadn't let go of her hand.

"Midori," he purred. "Open your eyes."

Slowly, Midori opened her eyes. She almost fainted at the sight that greeted her. The snow in this little hidden corner was pure white and for the most part unmarked. The pond looked like a giant gem and the lanterns made everything glow. She looked up at Souzou to find him smiling down at her. His dark brown eyes shone in the soft light with what was unmistakeably love. She was about to say something when he brought one finger to her lips.

"Uh... Um..." he started nervously, blushing. "Midori...?"

She tilted her head at him. He shook his nerves away and hoped his face wasn't too red.

"Midori, have you ever been kissed?" he asked quietly.

Midori's cheeks, already turned a pretty rose color from the cold, darkened a few shades. She looked up at him shyly and shook her head. He smiled gently, if a little bit shyly as well.

"Then," he continued, his voice soft. "May I give you your first?"

Midori's cheeks darkened a few more shades and she nodded affirmatively, feeling her heart fluttering.

Gently, Souzou pulled Midori into his lap and cradled her in his arms. Midori tensed, but soon relaxed and just let him hold her for a while. She closed her eyes, cuddling against the warmth of his chest. Soon she felt him shifting and tensed in anticipation. She felt the warmth of his lips coming closer to hers.

"You need to relax," whispered Souzou. "I'll make sure you remember your first kiss for the rest of your life."

Midori let the tension leave her body as Souzou stroked her hair, soothing her nerves. His breath tickled her lips and she tilted her head up, inviting his touch. Tenderly, his mouth pressed against hers, sending sparks through her and making her heart flutter. With soft caresses, he flickered his tongue over her lips. Slowly, he parted her lips and his tongue slid into her mouth. Midori's breath grew erratic, what little of it she could actually get in and out. She gasped as his tongue brushed hers for the first time. Uncertainly at first, she caressed his tongue with hers.

Souzou felt Midori's tongue move tentatively against his and groaned softly. As she grew more sure of herself, her movements became bolder. Through a series of experimental touches, she found that curling her tongue around his in a special way drove him crazy. She did it over and over, eliciting low moans from deep in his throat.

Souzou's arms tightened around Midori, pressing their bodies closer together. His tongue flicked playfully over hers, then retreated to his own mouth. At the first little sweep of her tongue, he captured it gently between his lips. He brought small moans and sighs from her as he suckled tenderly on the very tip of her tongue.

He released her tongue and reluctantly pulled away from her sweet mouth as the need for air forced its way into his mind. Midori sighed contentedly and lay back in Souzou's arms. Both of them were breathing heavily, Midori more so than Souzou. Her eyelids fluttered; her lips were full and kiss-swollen. Slowly, feeling as if she wasn't quite in control of her own body, she reached up to wrap her arms around Souzou's neck.

"Did you like that?" he purred.

Midori smiled, her eyes half-closed, and nodded affirmatively.

"Would you like another one?" he asked, his voice becoming a deep, husky growl.

She blushed rose-pink again and nuzzled her cheek against his chest, smiling shyly.

"Is that a yes?" he growled softly.

She opened one eye and nodded. Gently, Souzou shifted her up closer to him, cradling her in one arm. He laced her hand with his other hand. Slowly, he leaned over her, protecting her from the snow that had just started to fall again with his body. His mouth came down on hers, soft and tender. Midori held his hand over her heart. He was a little surprised at the intimacy of the touch, but he relaxed when he felt her heart racing beneath his hand. She must have been nervous about doing that, afraid he might reject her or think she was easy.

He eased her fears as he tilted her head back so that he could taste more of the sweetness of her mouth. His tongue played with hers, teasing her and overpowering her senses. Midori teased him as well, curling her tongue around his and moaning into his mouth. Souzou answered with moans of his own.

Again, it was only the need for air that forced them to end their kiss. As Midori opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Souzou's gentle smile. His hand still rested over her heart, with hers holding it there. He placed a soft, quick kiss on the tip of her nose, then nuzzled it with his own. Midori smiled at him, her eyes half-closed in bliss. From where she was, she could just see the snowflakes caught in his hair. She barely noticed the snow falling around them or the fact that it was only a few minutes before sunset. Sighing contentedly, she snuggled into the warmth of Souzou's chest. 


	12. Leaving

"You did what you said you would," Midori said softly, running her fingertips delicately over the back of his neck. "I'm going to remember my first kiss for the rest of my life."

Souzou's ears turned pink again.

"You know," he said quietly. "There's something I didn't tell you that day..."

"What is it?" asked Midori, smiling gently.

Souzou gently took both of Midori's hands in both of his. Smiling just like he was that day, a little nervous but full of love, he looked into her eyes. Those bright violet eyes could melt his heart and soul just like they could when he first saw them at sixteen years old.

"That was my first kiss too," he said, his voice soft and gentle.

Midori tightened her arms around her husband, pressing her body close to his and resting her head over his heart. Souzou held her tight, tears filling his eyes as he breathed in the scent of her hair. The soothing scent of sandalwood made his heart tighten painfully. He felt his wife shaking and heard her sobbing against his chest. His own shoulders shook and he muffled his cries in her hair.

Gently, Souzou nuzzled into his wife's throat, tears falling on her smooth skin. She whimpered and tightened her arms around him once more. Quickly, he cradled her in his arms and bent almost double so that he was leaning over her. With all the love and passion in every fiber of his being, he brought his mouth down on hers.

Midori gasped at the fierceness of her husband's passion. His tongue swept between her lips and into her mouth, desperately begging her to respond. She groaned into his caresses and curled her tongue around his. He tilted her head back swiftly, further delving into her mouth, mirroring the actions of her tongue with his own.

Just as he had done before, he flickered his tongue playfully over hers as he pulled back into his own mouth. She followed, like she always did, letting him suckle tenderly on her tongue and moaning for him. This time she twitched her tongue while between his lips, teasing the tip of his.

Slowly, still teasing her tongue as he held it between his lips, Souzou brought both of them back upright. Reluctantly, he pulled back a little. Gently, he bit down on her lower lip, then drew it into his mouth, swirling his tongue over the soft flesh and easing the small pain.

But no kiss, no matter how passionate and tender, could ease the pain in her heart.

As Souzou and Midori broke their last real kiss, a tear escaped from Midori's eye.

"I love you," whispered Souzou, kissing the tiny drop from his wife's flushed cheek.

"And I love you," she whispered back.

Souzou reluctantly disentangled himself from her arms and tilted her face up to his. He smiled at her and placed a soft, quick kiss on her already-swollen lips. Looking deep into her violet eyes, he leaned his forehead against hers.

"Always," he said softly. "Always, I love you."

He took her hand as he stepped back from her. Feeling his heart clench, a tear escaped from his eye and trailed down his cheek. He gave her hand a final squeeze then let go, feeling their fingertips brush each other softly. He couldn't look at her as he turned to leave.

Midori watched him go until she couldn't see him anymore.

Slowly, a single tear coursed down her cheek. Then another. And another. Hot tears came faster and faster, falling into the snow. Midori looked out at the horizon and let out a soft whimper. Finally something inside her cracked.

She covered her face with her hands and fell to her knees, sobbing hysterically.

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Inside, Toshio looked up at Sanosuke with her eyes full of tears.

"Daddy isn't coming back this time, is he?" she said softly, making it more statement than question.

Sanosuke looked down at the tiny girl, tears filling his own brown eyes. Slowly, he sat down, not trusting himself to stand anymore. He took Toshio's hand and gently pulled her down beside him. Tentatively, he wrapped one arm around her.

"No..." he said quietly, feeling tears escape from his eyes. "I don't think he is..."

Toshio turned and buried her face in Sano's shoulder. He took her in his arms, holding her tight and letting her cry it out. In about a minute, he bowed his head and let himself cry as well.

"You'll be alright, Toshio," he said, choking harshly. "I promised that I would take care of you and I will..."

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Midori pulled herself together after a long while and went back inside. Her heart, what was left of it, seemed to cry out in pain as she saw Sanosuke and Toshio, holding onto each other and crying. Gently, she placed a hand on Sanosuke's shoulder. Bloodshot brown eyes stared at her from a tear-streaked face as the boy lifted his head. Toshio clung to Sanosuke, still crying softly into his shirt.

"Come here," Midori said softly, pulling both children close to her.

Toshio cried herself to sleep, resting her head on Sanosuke's shoulder. Sanosuke ran his hand through her silky black hair, remembering the morning he woke up thinking she was an angel. He tightened his hold on her, resting his cheek on top of her head. For the first time in his life, he felt the need to protect someone outside of battle. Soon he fell asleep as well, his grief driving him to exhaustion.

Midori picked up both of them and carried them to their rooms.

With Toshio and Sanosuke asleep in their respective rooms, Midori went to visit Nanaka, hoping to soothe the pain in her heart. When Nanaka got a look at her best friend's face, her heart nearly shattered. The red eyes, tear-streaked face and ragged breath told her what had happened. Or at least what she thought happened.

"Midori, I'm so sorry," she said softly. "I saw him going through town. I didn't want to believe it... I never thought he would leave you."

Midori paused and tilted her head at Nanaka. Did she think the two of them had...? It couldn't be...

"That's not what happened," she whispered, tears filling her eyes again. "He didn't leave me, not like that... He had to go."

"Why?" asked Nanaka. "What reason would he have?"

Midori couldn't meet her best friend's eyes. This was going to be hard. Souzou had told her not to say anything about the Sekihoutai, but this seemed like a special case. After all, she could trust Nanaka with anything. She took a deep breath, wondering where to start. Finally she decided the truth was best.

"Nanaka, Souzou is the leader of the Sekihoutai," she said flatly.

Nanaka's jaw dropped and she was silent for a second.

"What?" she shrieked as the ability to speak pushed its way into her brain.

Midori winced for the sake of her eardrums.

"Shh!" she hissed. "No one was supposed to know!"

"But why is he going now?" whispered Nanaka.

Midori sighed, sadness darkening her pretty face.

"There's something wrong," she said softly. "There's someone who holds something against the Sekihoutai. His troop was massacred. His best friend was shot and he blames himself because he wasn't there with them."

"Oh my God," Nanaka said quietly. "Ri-chan..."

"Now he's going to track down any survivors of the massacre and try to find out what's going on," continued Midori. "His best friend's son turned up a few days after it actually happened... Souzou hasn't really been himself since then. This morning, he told me he had to go. He also told me... that if things are at all like he thinks they are, from what Sanosuke said... that most likely... he won't be coming home this time..."

She burst into tears. Nanaka put a hand on her best friend's shoulder, feeling tears come to her eyes as well.

"You have to go after him," she said, her voice shaking. "You can't just let him go and get himself slaughtered... I'll take care of Toshio and Sanosuke for you..."

Midori shook her head sadly.

"It wouldn't do any good," she said despairingly. "He believes he has to do this and he won't listen to anyone. You think I didn't beg him to stay? I asked. I cried. I begged. I pleaded. I did everything I could."

Nanaka took hold of both Midori's shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes. Her own cat-like green eyes flashed dangerously.

"Midori, even if you think you can't do anything, you still have to try," she said firmly. "Think about Toshio and Sanosuke if you won't think of yourself. Don't just let him go get himself killed."

"But what if I'm too late?" asked Midori, shuddering. "I can't go all that way just to fail and then have to watch him die..."

Nanaka frowned at her.

"Midori, what happened to my best friend?" she asked. "What happened to the woman who would never let anything stand in her way? What happened to the promise we made to each other to never give up on the ones we love? Have you ever broken a promise to me? No, you haven't. Are you going to start now?"

Midori shook her head, wiping her tears away.

"'Naka, you don't know how much help you are," she said softly. "I really am glad we're best friends."

"So you aren't going to give up?" asked Nanaka, one eyebrow raised. "You're going after him?"

Midori smiled shakily.

"When I almost lost him because of that wound, I said he wouldn't die without me there beside him," she said, her voice quiet. "If it turns out that he's right, then I'll keep my word. But that's only after I've done everything in my power to try and bring him home."

Nanaka smiled at her best friend and helped her to her feet.

"That's my Ri-chan," she said proudly. "Don't worry, everything's going to be fine. I'll look after Toshio and Sanosuke. I guarantee Kaede won't mind. She just loves Toshio to death and she adores Sanosuke. It'll be no trouble at all!"

Midori nodded emphatically and the two women headed for Nanaka's front door.

"Hey Seiya!" she yelled at her husband. "Would you keep an eye on Kaede? I'm going out for a while!"

An affirmative response was yelled from somewhere in the house.

A few minutes later, Sanosuke and Toshio were settled in with Nanaka and Midori was on the road. Her heart was still heavy, but she at least had hope. She could see her beloved husband's smile in her mind and a tear rolled down her cheek. But was it one of sorrow or joy? 


	13. T chan

It was almost sunset and it was starting to snow again. Souzou's heart was pounding almost painfully in his chest. If he kept going through the night, he could most likely get to where he was going by sunrise if not sooner. His mind was burning and his body was sore. He missed his family already. Was he really doing the right thing? Would he ever see his wife and daughter again? What about Sanosuke?

'I don't want to die,' he thought, fear gripping his heart for a moment.

A cold wind, carrying shards of ice, picked up. The little ice chips cut at his skin, sometimes making him cry out in pain. He wished he was home in his wife's arms. He wanted to see Toshio and Sanosuke again so badly. A particularly nasty gust brought up a shard that was sharp enough to split the skin of his cheek open. His nerves had been deadened by the cold, but still he could feel the grisly warmth of blood running down his face. At this point, he was grateful for any warmth at all.

When the wind picked up again, he realized that trying to go any further in this weather would be suicide. If he remembered correctly, there was a shelter around here somewhere. It was just an old cellar, the house itself long gone, but it would do until the snow let up. He never thought he would be so put off by the place where he had spent most of his youth. He and his friends were always tearing around here, usually after they had caused some kind of chaos. They would come here so they wouldn't be caught.

'Hmph... It's not like we ever actually hurt anyone,' he thought, half-smiling at the memories. 'But still... we were more trouble than we were worth...'

Somehow, as if his friends were there with him, Souzou found the old cellar. It was in worse condition than he first thought. The door seemed to be frozen shut and the inside was probably full of ice.

"Damn it," he growled, kicking the door sharply, hoping that maybe it would come loose or something.

It did, but just barely. The hinges were frozen too, but he managed to force the door open after a fair amount of pulling and a lot of swearing. Souzou was in possibly the worst mood he could ever remember being in. After one step, he found out the hard way that the stairs were covered with ice. More vehement swearing echoed around the icy cellar as his side hit the edge of one of the wooden steps. Rolling his eyes, he pushed himself to his feet and rubbed his side. The hit he had taken when he fell had been pretty bad.

'This one's definitely going to bruise,' he thought, wincing slightly.

Souzou sat down against one of the frozen dirt walls, drawing his knees up to his chest and shuddering. In a few seconds, he heard scratching sounds in the darkness. Looking around, he could barely make out the form of a little raccoon about four feet to his right. The tiny thing looked half-frozen. Tentatively, Souzou reached out a hand to it. A cold, wet nose touched his finger, then rubbed against his hand.

"Well hi there little guy," he said softly. "Don't worry. I won't hurt you."

The little grey creature seemed to understand and easily allowed itself to be picked up and held. Souzou was grateful for the company. Soon, his body and mind became aware of how tired he really was. The raccoon was already out of commission, snoring peacefully in his arms. In a few minutes, Souzou nodded off too, resting his head on his drawn-up knees.

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The next morning Souzou woke from a dream that he was home with Midori and Toshio and Sanosuke. The sudden shock of the cold brought him sharply back to reality. Stroking the little raccoon in his arms helped to ease the stinging pain in his heart. Its sad brown eyes met his own and made him smile.

"I guess you need a name, right?" he said to the small creature, something in the back of his mind wondering what on earth he was thinking.

Bright eyes blinked curiously at him as the little raccoon tilted its head. He laughed as his friendly little companion climbed up on his shoulder. Apparently the creature was fascinated by his red bandanna. He twitched as the raccoon's coarse hair tickled his ear.

"Hey! Quit that!" he said, laughing a little as he pushed the raccoon's paws away. "I think I'll just call you T-chan. For Tanuki. Just so you know, I really don't think you should get attached to me. But I guess you can hang around for now."

T-chan chattered at him, obviously accepting his new name, and settled quietly on Souzou's shoulder. He smiled sadly and pushed himself slowly to his feet. He was stiff and sore from sleeping curled up against the wall. He ignored the pain in his mind and heart, not to mention his body, and came out of the cellar. It was still dark and he wasn't surprised in the least. He hadn't counted on getting much sleep. Without another thought, he started down the road again with T-chan on his shoulder.

'I should get there in about two hours,' he thought. 'I never thought I'd be coming back here...'

His heart clenched painfully. The truth was, he had never wanted to come back here. There were just too many memories. He wanted to forget about all the things that had hurt him. But deep in the bottom of his heart, he knew he couldn't. He could never forget Reika.

'I can't forget my little sister,' he thought, feeling tears in his eyes.

T-chan seemed to sense his new friend's pain and promptly poked his cold, wet nose into his ear. Souzou yelped and his thought broke off as he jumped about a foot in the air. He glared at the raccoon for a second, then started to laugh. Shaking his head, he reached up to scratch the little raccoon behind one ear.

"Well that's one way to get my mind off things," he commented.

The next two hours passed in relative silence. Memories flooded Souzou's mind. Some of them were happy. Some of them were funny. Some were just plain sad. All of them were painful. He missed his friends and what was left of his family. Most prominent in his heart and mind was the memory of his little sister.

"Reika," he whispered. "I have a feeling I'll be coming to join you soon..."

He turned down the familiar road and nearly fainted dead away at what he saw. The town he had grown up in, his home town, was gone. In its place was a twisted mass of ashes and charred wood. A few building frames remained standing, but everything was blackened. There was no sign of a living soul anywhere. The worst part was that it was fresh. The smell of smoke still hung around the place and it burned his tear-filled eyes.

"What the hell?" he asked aloud, his voice faint.

He ran along the streets of his ruined home town, looking for any signs of life. He found nothing, no one. Just an old sword that was stuck point-down in one of the burned houses. Kicking in what remained of the door, he picked his way into the wreckage. When he got a good look at the sword, his heart stopped for a second.

"Oh no..." he whispered, his whisper quickly becoming an anguished cry that bared all the pain in his heart. "Dad! NO!"

His father's sword. He would never just leave it. That could mean only one thing.

Souzou fell on his knees. He felt like dying and seriously considered driving his father's sword into his own heart right then. But he knew his father wouldn't want him to die like that. Tears came to his eyes, but he couldn't cry. His breath seemed to be trapped in his throat.

Slowly, almost mechanically, he pulled the blackened sword from the ground. He pushed himself up off his knees, picked his way out of his father's ruined house and left the burned town. With a heavy heart, he turned to go down another familiar path. The snow on the path was blackened with ash. Souzou felt like his heart was the same way.

He knelt beside the little grave stone. He had sworn that he would never come here ever again. With as much reverence as he could, he placed his father's sword behind his sister's grave stone. T-chan climbed down off his shoulder and went to inspect the unfamiliar object. Souzou touched the kanji characters carved into the smooth stone. They made up his sister's name. His memory of that day was clear as crystal. 


	14. A Brother's Memory

"Souzou?" asked a soft voice. "Souzou, can I ask you something?"

"Sure you can," he answered, trying to hold in his sadness. "What is it?"

"Am I dying?" she asked, her sweet little voice shaking in fear.

Souzou bit his lip, tears filling his dark brown eyes. The doctor said he couldn't do anything more for her. All they could do was wait and even then it didn't look good. She probably didn't have long if the fever didn't go away. That was two weeks ago and her skin still felt like it was on fire.

"Don't give up, Reika," he said softly. "You can't give up."

Reika stared at her brother. Their brown eyes were practically identical. It was what really identified them as sister and brother, besides the same silky black hair and slim build. And she could always tell when there was something he wasn't saying. Slowly, she reached for her brother's hand. He brought his hand to meet hers, feeling the heat of her fever-burned skin. She was just getting worse.

"Don't bother holding back," she said quietly. "I'm tired of not knowing. Am I going to die?"

Souzou squeezed his little sister's hand. He couldn't meet her eyes. The ten-year-old girl wrapped her arms around her brother, burying her face in his shoulder. Tears escaped from his eyes and he returned her embrace.

"I didn't want to tell you," he whispered. "I thought it would make you lose the will to live..."

"Did you ever think that maybe I wanted to lose it?" Reika whispered fiercely.

Souzou couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Reika, come here," he said hoarsely, pulling his little sister into his lap and holding her tight. "I don't want you to go... But if you feel that much pain... Do you really want to go?"

She tightened her arms around him.

"I know how much I'll miss you," she said, her voice soft. "And I'm scared..."

Souzou kissed the top of his sister's head and let a tear fell on her hair.

"I'm scared too," he whispered, his voice rasping. "I don't want you to die, Reika."

"I just want the pain to go away," she said softly. "I'm tired and I hurt all over all the time..."

"I know I'll miss you," said Souzou, shaking badly. "But I only want what's best for you... And sometimes, the best you can do is let go."

Reika began to cry, her tears soaking into her brother's shirt as she clung to him. She could feel herself growing weaker, but she didn't want to let go yet. When their mother left, Souzou swore that he would protect her always. She didn't want to leave the safety of her big brother's arms. But she could feel something pulling her away.

"Souzou?" she asked, her voice softer than it had been. "Will you stay with me just a little longer?"

"Of course," he answered, stroking her hair to reassure her. "I'm not going anywhere..."

Reika settled back in Souzou's arms. He looked down at her to see her smiling. Her dark brown eyes, so much like his own, were shining. He smiled back at her, though he could feel his heart breaking. She leaned up and kissed his cheek. Then she settled back down again, snuggling comfortably against his chest.

"You know," she said quietly, still smiling. "I don't feel so bad anymore..."

Souzou felt something inside him break. His sister was dying and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Tears streamed down his face unchecked. Gently, he shifted Reika down to cradle her in his arms. He used to hold her like that when she was sad or scared. Often, he would end up holding her just like that until she relaxed and fell asleep. He looked down at her face and almost broke down. Though the fevered red tint was gone from her thin face, it had been replaced by a deathly white coloration. But still she smiled at him.

"Reika..." he whispered, his voice choked with tears. "No matter what, whether you're here with me or not, you'll always be my little sister... I'm going to miss you... so much..."

Reika's breathing was getting slower. Her beautiful brown eyes were half-closed and her skin was rapidly cooling. She reached a thin, pale hand up to touch her brother's face as her vision clouded. Souzou covered her hand with his own, holding it against his cheek.

"Don't cry, Souzou," begged Reika, her voice sweet and full of concern, "Don't worry. It's not so bad. Like you said, I'll always be your little sister... I'll miss you too, though... But I promise you'll see me again someday..."

Souzou held his sister tight against his chest, trying to force back tears. Reika's breathing had almost stopped completely. She only had enough strength left for a few words.

"I love you, my brother," she said softly. "Goodbye Souzou..."

Her sweet voice trailed off and her dark brown eyes closed for the last time.

"Goodbye Rei-chan," whispered Souzou, almost in disbelief.

He looked down at her face. The color was totally gone from her cheeks. Her expression was peaceful, though. Her mouth still curved into a pretty smile. She looked like she had only just fallen asleep. He held her close to his heart, bowed his head and cried. 


	15. Comfort?

Souzou let his tears fall on his sister's little grave, crying unashamedly and not bothering to quiet his sobs. Though he knew there was nothing he could have done, he still felt like it was his fault Reika died. After all, he had been through that same fever and lived. But it didn't matter now. He and his sister would be together again soon anyway.

Still, he wished he could see his sister one last time, give her just one last hug before he died. It scared him so badly to know that with every hour that passed, he was one hour closer to his inevitable death. A shudder ran through his body and he said a silent prayer. If he had to die, he at least wanted to die with honor.

'Hopefully it'll be painless too,' he thought as a chill ran up his spine.

T-chan nuzzled his friend's hand then quickly climbed up on his shoulder. The little raccoon could sense something wrong. He wanted to comfort his human companion and did so in the only way he knew how. Once again, he poked his nose into Souzou's ear. Once again, Souzou yelped and swore out loud.

"What was that for?" he snapped, swiping a hand at his face to brush away his tears.

The raccoon tilted its head quizzically at him and blinked its sad brown eyes. It reached out and placed a tiny paw on his cheek. Souzou closed his eyes, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Reika would have loved T-chan. A tear ran down his cheek, only he couldn't tell if it was happy or sad.

It was already past noon and Souzou was exhausted. A horrible night's sleep, the discovery of his ruined home town and the news of his father's death had really played havoc with his systems. There was no way he could travel in his current condition. He would be murdered on the road before he even got to Tokyo, much less Kyoto. Anyway, he was so tired from all that had gone on that he leaned back against a tree near his sister's grave and fell asleep. T-chan curled up in his lap and was soon asleep as well.

'I can get started again after dark,' was Souzou's last coherent thought before deep sleep claimed him. 


	16. Midori's Journey

Midori didn't know it, but she passed by her husband with less than a passing glance. She barely noticed the little path that turned off the main road. She certainly had no idea that he was sound asleep against a tree, holding a raccoon in his lap, and dreaming about being home with her.

She had been caught in that same storm last night. Her skin was raw and red and her nerves had yet to recover some of their feeling. But still she was going strong. The hope of her beloved husband being in her arms, warm and safe once again, gave her the strength to keep heading for Tokyo.

'Souzou, wherever you are, I'm going to find you and bring you home,' she thought, looking up to the pale winter sun and smiling determinedly. 'I swear it. You'll be home with your family soon, darling.'

She stopped for a while to fish through her bag for one of the rice balls Nanaka made. Well this was a pleasant surprise. This one had shrimp in it. A happy tear came to her eye as she remembered Souzou trying to teach Toshio to make rice balls. It had been a pain in the neck at the time, because of the mess, but it really was cute. He had started shaping them into hearts and stars to impress her. But it was when he started shaping them into little bunnies that she had started laughing. That day had ended with Toshio making her first perfect rice ball.

'I hope I find him soon,' she thought, watching the snow clouds float across the pale sky.

She popped the rest of the rice ball into her mouth and started off again. Her heart, mind and body felt new strength and her outlook had vastly improved. She kept going nonstop until around four in the afternoon. Then she came to a small village that seemed like a good place to stay. It didn't look like there was anywhere else close by. Maybe she would find Souzou here. At least someone might have seen him.

A friendly-looking girl who couldn't have been more than seventeen almost immediately collided with her. After a hurried apology, the girl launched into what was obviously a memorized spiel about the hotel she worked at. She seemed over-eager and, in a word, bouncy.

"Hello! And welcome to Dakara!" she said, her voice loud so it would carry. "We've got the biggest rooms in town! So are you staying with us tonight?"

Midori only got about half the words, but she could form a general picture of what the hyperactive teenager was saying. She had no idea where she was, but she figured she could at least humor the girl. She followed her into a decidedly nice-looking building and before she knew what was happening, she was staying in a room bigger than her own bedroom. Before the girl bounced out of the room, Midori caught her by the shoulder.

"Excuse me, miss," she said quietly. "There's someone I'm looking for and I'm wondering if you've seen them."

The girl tilted her head, blinking her blue-green eyes confusedly.

"I don't know," she said brightly. "I've seen a lot of unfamiliar faces in the past few days. Which one in particular are you looking for?"

"Have you seen a young man of about thirty?" asked Midori. "But I have to say, he doesn't look it. He's tall and he's wearing a fairly unusual uniform. And a red bandanna."

The hyperactive teenager stared at the ceiling for a second, apparently deep in thought.

"I haven't seen anybody like that," she said slowly. "But I'll keep my eyes open and I'll tell you if I see him!"

She gave Midori a smile and bounced away.

'I've never seen anyone with so much energy,' thought Midori, trying to process all the girl had said.

She set her bag down, checked through her things and pulled out her sketchbook. Flipping through the pages, she came to the picture of Toshio lying in her father's lap and smiling as if she had never been happier in her life. Tears came to her eyes and she quickly shut the book to keep from smearing the charcoal. Aside from worrying to death about Souzou, she wondered how Toshio and Sanosuke were doing. She knew Toshio wouldn't give Nanaka any trouble, but Sanosuke had looked like he was planning something when she left. 


	17. Sanosuke's Plan

Midori didn't know how right she was...

That night, Sanosuke woke Toshio at midnight to say goodbye. He had a bag with enough food to last about a week. Gently, he stroked the tiny girl's hair until she turned over and her big violet eyes fluttered open.

"Toshio, I'm going too," he whispered. "I'm not just going to sit around and wait."

"Hm?" asked the little girl sleepily. "Where are you going?"

Sanosuke pulled Toshio close to him and held her tight. He didn't really know how to explain this to a four-year-old. Hell, he barely knew how to settle this in his own mind.

"I'm going after him too," he said softly. "I can't stay here and not know what's going on."

"You're going to find Daddy?" asked Toshio, her violet eyes wide, almost hopeful.

Sanosuke nodded, squeezing the girl a little tighter, then letting her go.

"Don't tell anybody where I went, alright?" he asked her, one hand under her chin as he looked down into those beautiful eyes.

Toshio nodded, then reached up to wrap her arms around Sanosuke's neck. He tightened his arms around her. She tilted her head, gave him a quick, innocent kiss on the cheek and smiled at him.

"You can do it, Sano!" she whispered fiercely. "I know you can."

Sanosuke kissed her cheek as well, whispered a goodbye and disappeared into the night. Quickly, he found the same road Souzou and Midori had taken. He knew he could make better time at a run and he knew he had the endurance to do it. Starting out at a steady pace, he started running through the darkness.

Soon he found that his endurance wasn't what he thought it was. He had almost exhausted himself and he had no place to stay. So he slowed down to a walk and forced himself to keep going. He wasn't sure how long he had been walking when he started to hear gunfire. Off to his left, a fairly large covered cart was on fire and surrounded by men with guns. He couldn't tell how many there were. Scared out of his wits, he just stood there and stared.

An explosion rang out and Sanosuke saw what seemed to be a familiar form pelting towards him at top speed.

'Katsu?' he thought, seconds before the other boy slammed into him and sent them both crashing to the ground.

"Quick, get out of here!" yelled a familiar voice before a hand grabbed the collar of his shirt.

Sanosuke had only enough time to duck as a small flying projectile whizzed past his left ear. He heard his best friend cry out in pain and scrambled to his feet. Quickly, he grabbed his friend's hand and both of them took off running. When they stopped, Sanosuke spun Katsu around to look him in the face.

"Katsu, is that really you?" he asked, his heart racing.

Dark, wild eyes stared at him, seemingly in disbelief. The small black-haired boy opened his mouth to say something, but instead choked and groaned in pain. For a second he reeled, then he fell to his knees, doubled over and gasping for breath.

"Where did they hit you?" asked Sanosuke, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"The side of my chest," he wheezed. "Don't worry. It's just a scratch..."

"What?" yelled Sanosuke. "Don't you remember what Captain Sagara said? If you get a gunshot wound, you have to look at it as a worst-case scenario! That means you need help, you idiot!"

Katsu rolled his eyes and reluctantly pulled his hand away from the side of his chest. In the dark, the blood staining his shirt looked black. The stain was growing rapidly. Sanosuke was trying hard not to panic while Katsu struggled to stay conscious.

"It should stop soon," he whispered, his voice rasping.

"Katsu, just let me see it!" snarled Sanosuke, forcing his friend down on his back. "I lost my best friend once. I thought you died in that battle just like my dad! I'm not going to lose you again!"

Katsu smiled at Sanosuke, though it was obvious he was in pain.

"Ow..." he groaned through clenched teeth.

Trying not to disturb the wound, Sanosuke tore the side of Katsu's shirt open. It was hard to tell what what actually part of the wound and what was just dried blood and bruising. The whole thing looked absolutely horrible. Katsu was getting very pale and things didn't look good for him.

"Katsu, this isn't just a scratch," Sanosuke whispered. "Do you think you can get up? We really need to get help..."

"I'm not sure," said Katsu, his voice barely more than a breath.

"You've got to try," Sanosuke said firmly, pulling Katsu's arm over his shoulder and helping him to his feet. "Just keep your hand pressed over the open part."

Slowly, Sanosuke and Katsu made their way to the last place they had seen people. There was only one person standing there. He couldn't have been more than fifteen years old. Though the night was cold, probably getting ready to snow again, his long red hair hung in strings, sticking to his forehead with sweat. A sword hung at his side. Tentatively, the two nine-year-old boys approached the stranger.

"Uh, excuse me? Can you help us?" asked Sanosuke, his voice shaking. "My friend's been shot and it looks really bad. We don't have any way to stop the bleeding..."

The red-haired young man didn't say a word, just reached down and gently pulled Katsu's hand away from his wound. Looking at the open, bleeding wound with an analytical eye, he knelt beside Katsu. Still silent, he tore part of his own sleeve off and began to wipe the blood away from the wound. Soon, it was beginning to look better. It wasn't bleeding as much and Katsu looked like he had a better chance of living.

"Do you have anything to wrap it with?" asked the young stranger.

Sanosuke took off his coat and tore a few strips off the bottom of it. Carefully, the older boy helped Katsu get his shirt off and started wrapping the makeshift bandages around his chest. In a few minutes, it was obvious everything was going to be alright. Katsu put his shirt back on, looking up at his rescuer in wonder. The red-haired boy gave Sanosuke and Katsu a faint smile. Before either of them could open their mouth to thank him, he had disappeared into the darkness. 


	18. Souzou's Decision

About a week later, Souzou was standing outside the Dakara. He wondered where he was, considering it was the only town he had come across besides his burned home town. It hadn't been there the last time he had come down this road. Just the same, a warm meal and a decent room was exactly what he needed. He was thinking about where he should stay when a hyperactive seventeen-year-old girl popped up at his side.

"Hey! Are you new around here?" she asked brightly. "Just passing through? Need a place to stay? Stay with us at the Dakara!"

Souzou looked down at the bouncing teenager, trying to sort out what the hell she just said. When the girl got a good look at him, her huge blue-green eyes got even bigger. She latched onto his arm, sputtering excitedly. Souzou couldn't remember ever having been more confused.

"You're the one she's looking for!" shrieked the petite girl, her voice rather loud for someone so small. "You fit the description perfectly! My God! She's been looking for you for about a week now!"

Souzou had no clue what was going on.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. "Who's looking for me?"

"A girl!" replied the teenager. "Looks like she's in her twenties, brown hair in a braid, kind of purple eyes ---"

She got no further. Souzou's heart stopped for a second. He pried the girl off his arm and took hold of her shoulders, looking her in the eye. Fear crossed her face for a moment. Turning slightly red, Souzou loosened his grip on her shoulders and tried to calm down.

"Where is she?" he asked, attempting to sound like he wasn't going to panic. "She's my wife... And if she's followed me, her life is in danger! Where is she now?"

The girl looked fairly ruffled and took a step back, eyeing him suspiciously. Souzou quickly removed his hands from her shoulders. The last thing he needed right now was trouble with the police. Or a seventeen-year-old knocking his lights out, as she seemed ready to do.

"I think she's out looking for you," she said shakily. "I don't know where she is..."

"Do you have any ideas?" persisted Souzou.

She looked off into space for a moment, deep in thought.

"I don't know where she is now, but I can show you her room and you can wait for her," she suggested.

Souzou relaxed with a sigh.

"I guess that's all I can do right now," he said wearily.

The teenager gave him a big smile and bounced away, motioning for him to follow. Well this girl certainly had a unique personality. Funny, just about a minute ago, she was ready to give him a concussion. Now she was all bouncy again. He rolled his eyes, wondering vaguely if Reika would have been like that if she had lived. Mood swings... A bittersweet laugh escaped his lips and he started after her.

'Midori, what have you done?' he thought worriedly. 'I'm doing this so you won't get hurt...'

A small voice nagged at the back of his mind.

"But it will hurt her," it said. "It's going to break her heart."

He sighed again as he followed the hyperactive seventeen-year-old into Midori's room. He thanked the girl and sat down to wait. He looked around at her things, scattered around the room as if she had just fished through her bag in a hurry and rushed out to look for him. She just didn't seem to understand that she was safer back home. Well, she did understand, she just didn't listen.

'Maybe I should just leave,' he thought sadly. 'Then maybe she'll go home...'

But did he really want his beloved to think that he left her? He hung his head, ashamed of himself for thinking such a thing. There was no way he could do that to her. He wanted so badly to see her again, but then he knew he couldn't leave again. And the cold reality was that he had to go. He had to uphold his honor and the name of the Sekihoutai.

'But if I could just see her face one more time,' he thought in desperation. 'If I could just give her one more kiss... Just have one more chance to hold her in my arms again...'

Resting his elbow on his knee, he covered his eyes with his hand, imagining his loving wife's face. A single tear trailed down his cheek and he wondered if what he had felt in the bottom of his heart was true. Was he really never going to see his home and family again? He knew that if he saw Midori right now, there was no way he would be able to walk away. With a heart heavy as lead, he pulled out the pen and slightly crumpled paper he had brought with him. He had wanted to send just two letters to Midori, one when he arrived and had found the survivors. The other was for right before he went into battle. Sadly, he spread out one piece of paper and started writing an explanation to his beloved.

"My beautiful Midori," he began. "By the time you read this, I will have already left. I am not asking you to understand my actions. I only ask that you forgive me. I assume that the girl at the Dakara whom we have both seemed to run into will have told you I was here. I am only able to tell you that I cannot stay. If I were to see your lovely face again, I know in my heart that I could never turn and leave again. As I have told you, I must go and regain the honor of the Sekihoutai.

I know that I am a coward. I cannot even stay and face the woman I love because of the weakness in my heart. If you cannot forgive me now, all I ask is that you do so later. I love you with all my heart, Midori, and I always will. Please remember that. And I miss you so much that it is crushing my heart.

Midori, my love, I hope everything works out good in the end. The chance that I might come home is slim. However, I can feel in the pit of my stomach that I will not be. Yes, Midori, I am willingly walking into my death. But do not worry. I do not regret it in the least. I must ask you not to continue following me. You are only putting your life in danger. Please, I beg you, my wife, go home. Take care of Toshio and Sanosuke. Give them my love.

I admit that I am still afraid to die. It is only human nature. I must say that I am not afraid to die for the people I love. I cannot tell you in words how much I miss you. Let me put it this way: If I could just see your pretty smile one more time before I go, if I could just give you one more kiss, I could die the happiest man on earth. I love you, forever and a day.

With My Love Always,  
Souzou

Souzou was barely aware of the little tear that escaped from his eye. He realized he was crying when another liquid diamond fell on the word "love". Leaving the note on a table and trying to ignore the nearly unbearable pain in his chest, he left the room. Without a word to anyone, he left the Dakara, collected T-chan from out of a tree and left town. 


	19. Shock and Stubbornness

Midori followed the hyperactive girl to the room she was staying in. Her heart was fluttering and she felt like a dead weight had been lifted from her chest. If a frenzy of chaos and energy, she flung the shoji open and burst into the room. She heard the girl gasp beside her and was brought back to reality with what felt like a slap in the face. As she looked around, she found her room empty. The only thing different from when she had left was the tear-stained paper lying on a table. With a shaking hand, not quite believing this was real, she picked up the note on which the ink was still glistening.

"'My beautiful Midori,'" she read, letting her voice trail off.

Her heart grew heavier and heavier as she read. When she finished, she read the tear-spotted, slightly crumpled letter over and over. She was almost unaware of the tears streaming down her own face.

"'With my love always, Souzou,'" she finished softly as her vision clouded too much to read anymore.

She had just missed him! She had been so close she could almost feel him in her arms. She could almost taste his kisses... Midori sank to her knees, holding the letter to her heart. Quick as a flash, she jumped up and started collecting her things. Within about a minute, everything was back in her bag, except for the letter. This she carefully folded and tucked into her kimono, so that it remained close to her heart.

Quickly, she found the seventeen-year-old again and tried to pay for the room.

"No, no! Absolutely not!" insisted the hyperactive young girl. "I know you're going to need your money to keep going after him!"

Midori didn't know what to say. The teen patted the older woman's arm sympathetically. Then she started making little "shooing" motions with her hand.

"Go on! Go on! This one's on me!" she said brightly, winking conspiratorially. "You can do it. Keep going!"

Midori was grateful to the younger girl, giving her a faint smile.

"Thank you very much," she said softly. "By the way, what's your name? I don't think you ever said."

"Matsuri Hirano," chirped the teenager. "And it's no problem. I think the whole thing is awfully romantic!"

Midori sighed and gave the girl another smile, a little brighter this time, and hurried from the Dakara. 


	20. Grim Determination

Sanosuke and Katsuhiro had bypassed the little town entirely and were just arriving in Tokyo in the early hours of the morning. Katsu's wound was healing, making movement less painful, and was opening less frequently. However, Tokyo's streets were not the safest place for two unarmed nine-year-old boys to be before dawn. Soon, the two of them found this out the hard way.

"Well hello, boys," came a drawling voice from behind them. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Sanosuke was the first to turn around. The man who had spoken was a street bum, apparently in his thirties, wearing a lecherous grin on his ugly face. Sanosuke turned back around and took hold of Katsu's arm, picking up their pace and trying to ignore the obvious threat. He hoped that if they ignored him, he would get bored and go away. Katsu seemed much more nervous than Sanosuke, who picked up on this quickly. Katsu almost never showed fear or anxiety. What was causing it now? Sanosuke froze when he felt a heavy hand gripping his shoulder roughly.

"I think it's time to play," said the bum with a leer. "You don't want to miss that, do you? It'll be fun..."

Katsu gave a frightened yell and kicked the lecher sharply in the shin. Before Sanosuke could say or do anything, Katsu had taken off at a run. He turned to follow, getting ready to put on a burst of speed when the hand that had been on his shoulder grabbed the back of his shirt. Even though the poor boy struggled fiercely, lashing out tooth and nail, he was no match for the man's physical strength.

"No need to try and run," said the lecher smoothly. "That just makes everything harder on you..."

Sanosuke was forced down on his knees by a sharp blow to the back of his head. He closed his tear-filled brown eyes and prayed that this was a nightmare and that he would wake up at home. He felt sick as he felt the man's hand stroking his rear. He jammed his eyes tighter shut and prayed harder. He was bracing himself for the pain when he heard a loud cry and the sound of a sword penetrating flesh.

"Bastard," said a quiet voice in disgust. Its owner put a gentle hand on Sanosuke's shoulder. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

Sanosuke shook his head and shifted to a sitting position. He looked up at his rescuer and was shocked beyond belief. It was that same red-haired fifteen-year-old who had helped him save Katsu. The redhead took hold of Sanosuke's arm and hauled him to his feet.

"You should be careful," he admonished softly, carefully checking the smaller boy for injuries. "What are you doing out here at this hour anyway?"

Sanosuke looked a little confused. How was he supposed to answer that? He opened his mouth and was about to say something when he saw the body of his attacker. The dead man had a huge hole in the back of his skull and there was blood everywhere. His words became a retching sound as he turned and vomited in the side of the alley. The fifteen-year-old knelt beside him, rubbing his back as he emptied his stomach onto the ground.

"You're alright now, I promise," he said soothingly. "Your friend was yelling for help and he ran straight into me. I told him to wait for me, so we should go find him."

Shaking a little, Sanosuke nodded and willingly let the older boy lead him. After a few minutes, they found Katsu sitting on the front steps of a restaraunt. He was leaning on Sanosuke's bag, sound asleep. Gently, the red-haired boy put a hand on his shoulder and shook him awake. Katsu jumped, yelped a little and immediately his arms went into a cross-block over his head.

"Don't worry," said the redhead, guiding Katsu's arms down to his sides. "I won't hurt you. I'm here to help, remember?"

"Sano! Is he alright?" asked Katsu, instantly frantic. "Where is he?"

"I'm right here, Katsu," Sanosuke said softly. "And I'm fine."

Katsu smiled shakily and looked up at the older boy.

"Thank you for saving him," he said quietly. "He's my best friend and right now he's all I've got."

"You're perfectly welcome," replied the red-haired boy. "Friends are important. Do whatever you can to keep them safe."

Sanosuke opened his mouth to ask the older boy his name, but he had already given them a funny little half-smile and disappeared down an alley.

"Well..." said Katsu uncertainly. "Do you think we could stay at this place?"

Sano looked at the building. Katsu had been sleeping on the step when they found him. It was apparently a restaraunt built into an inn. The place was called Akabeko. And right now there was a twelve-year-old girl standing on the top step wearing a pink yukata and an irritated expression.

"What in the world?" she asked, obviously annoyed. "What are you two doing out here? If you're trying to pull some kind of prank, I'm getting the police!"

Katsu yelped again and fell off the step. Sano pulled his friend up and looked at the girl with a suspicious eye. She had brown hair pulled back in a ponytail and was slightly small-built. To Sano, she didn't look like much of a threat.

"Who are you?" he asked, sounding a bit like a smart-aleck.

"Tae Sekihara," she replied briskly. "I could ask you the same question. And I'll ask again. What are you two doing out here and who are you?"

Katsu raised an eyebrow.

"Katsuhiro Tsukioka," he said proudly. "But call me Katsu."

"Nice to meet you," Tae said dryly before rounding on Sano. "And you, with the chicken hair, who are you?"

Sano's jaw dropped. His face turned bright red and a string of muttered swear words was barely audible. Katsu clamped a hand over his mouth, doubling over and laughing. Tae's face turned red as well and she considered knocking the kid's lights out right then. Sano's face was still red, only now it seemed to be from embarrassment. He couldn't look the girl in the eye.

"Sanosuke," he grumbled. "But just call me Sano."

"Last name?" asked Tae, one eyebrow raised.

Sano's face darkened and he didn't answer. Katsu flinched, knowing that Tae had just hit a serious nerve. Tae noticed something unusual too and decided to drop the matter. Katsu decided to take up for his friend.

"Sagara," he said firmly. "His last name's Sagara."

Tae tilted her head in surprise and confusion.

"Sagara?" she asked. "Are you related to Souzou Sagara?"

Sano's eyes widened and he didn't quite know what to say. Again, Katsu had to come up with something.

"I guess you could say that," he said, not meeting anyone's eyes and trying to avoid physical contact.

"Oh! He's my brother's friend," chirped Tae, suddenly feeling much more friendly toward the two boys. "He'll be staying here for a couple of days. I think he's supposed to get in today. I'm guessing you're looking for him?"

Sano and Katsu nodded emphatically.

"Well come inside then!" said Tae, again much more friendly.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Souzou didn't get to Akabeko until around sunset. He was exhausted in mind and body and he looked it. After a split second of debating whether or not to remain hidden, Sanosuke burst out from behind a potted plant. Souzou was, to say the least, shocked at seeing him.

"Sanosuke?" he sputtered. "What are you doing here?"

Before Sanosuke could answer, loud feminine-sounding swearing echoed from the back of the restaraunt and Katsuhiro tumbled out of one of the booths. His face was white. Sanosuke smacked a hand to his forehead as he watched his friend apologize to three furious teenage girls. Souzou's dark brown eyes widened more than they already had.

"Sanosuke, Katsuhiro," he said sternly. "What are the two of you doing here?"

Sano looked slightly ashamed. He couldn't look at his former captain anymore, staring instead at a millipede on the floor. Katsu just stood there shifting from one foot to the other, looking nervous. Again, he was trying not to let anyone touch him.

"I came to find you, Captain Sagara," Sano said softly. "I was hoping you would come home with me..."

"I got caught by some people after the massacre," Katsu said tonelessly, before Souzou could ask. "The cart they had me on got robbed so I was trying to get away in the confusion... Sano found me. I got shot while we were running and this other guy helped both of us out. I was just following Sano from there."

Souzou couldn't figure out whether to be relieved or angry. Sano and Katsu were both alive and safe; that was a good thing. But their lives were now in danger as well as Midori's. Forgetting about all that for a second, he took a step forward and pulled both boys close to him. In this moment, he was just glad to see them again. For a second, Katsu froze as if in fear. His hesitation didn't go unnoticed by his captain.

"I don't know whether to laugh or knock your heads together," whispered Souzou, just barely realizing he had tears on his face. "Admittedly, it was very foolish of you to follow me. You put your lives in danger and I'm not exactly happy about that. But I'm so glad to see you two that I can accept it. Just do me a favor and don't scare me like that again!"

"Don't worry," laughed Sanosuke. "So are you going to come home? I came all this way and I promised Toshio that you would come home..."

Souzou's expression became grave, his eyes growing darker. He found that he couldn't meet Sano's gaze. Katsu pulled away and leaned against the wall. Souzou put his hands on Sano's shoulders, trying to stay calm.

"I'm sorry Sanosuke," he said quietly. "You must understand. I have to regain the honor of the Sekihoutai and the honor of my family. And that includes the memory of your father."

Sano found that his legs would no longer hold him up. He shuddered violently and fell to his knees. Tears streamed down his cheeks. Souzou pulled the boy to his feet and tilted his head up so that he could look him in the eye.

"Don't worry about me," he said softly. "I just want you to keep yourself and Toshio safe."

"I can't just leave you," whispered a despondent Sanosuke. "I promised Toshio you would come back with me."

"Sanosuke," said Souzou in a level voice. "I'm afraid you won't be able to keep that promise."

"I'm sorry Captain Sagara," Sanosuke whispered. "I'm so sorry I failed... I promised I would take care of Toshio and now I'm just going to hurt her."

"Life is about second chances," replied Souzou. "Remember that on your way home, Sanosuke."

He ruffled Sanosuke's hair and went to comfort the lonely-looking Katsu.

"Something is bothering you, Katsuhiro," he said gently. "Please tell me what it is. I don't think I've ever seen you act antisocial."

Katsu sighed, sound pained and more than a little depressed.

"I can still see it," he said softly. "I never want to watch so many people die again..."

"Ah, I understand," whispered Souzou, placing a hand on the black-haired boy's arm. "I'm quite familiar with the feeling."

Katsu shied away from Souzou's touch.

"But what is it that makes you resist being around people?" asked Souzou, becoming more and more concerned.

Katsu suddenly became very interested in the tatami he was standing on. He found that he couldn't make himself meet his former captain's eyes. Said former captain noticed Katsu trying to place as much physical distance between them as possible. He was pale and his body was shaking.

"Katsuhiro, are you sick?" persisted Souzou. "Did something happen to you that I should know about?"

He watched the tears falling from the boy's eyes. The poor boy's body was still shaking, now more violently than before. Souzou knew that something was seriously wrong. Katsuhiro was usually a very bright, cheerful boy and not much could dampen his spirit. He put his hands on Katsu's shoulders, his heart wincing as the boy flinched, and looked him in the eye.

"Katsuhiro Tsukioka, listen to me," he said firmly. "If something has happened to you that should not have happened, you must tell me. I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."

The emotional dam in Katsu's heart cracked and he collapsed in his captain's arms, sobbing his heart out. The whole story spilled out between gasps for air and anguished cries. He held so much pain in his mind, heart and body. He felt worthless and dirty because of what happened. It took a long time for his cries to subside.

Souzou was shocked. Now he knew why Katsu didn't want anyone to touch him. He had come to mistrust another human's touch after what had happened to him. And it was no wonder. He knew, but he just didn't want to believe it. Nothing like this should ever happen to anyone.

Katsu's innocence had been taken from him.

Souzou tightened his arms around Katsu, though he felt the boy shudder and stiffen, trying not to break down. Again, he blamed himself for what had happened. He still believed that had he been in that battle, none of this would have happened.

"Katsuhiro," he started uncertainly. "When?"

"Couldn't have been more than two days after the attack," replied Katsu in a low voice. "This big group found me. I think they might have been yakuza. They were sick, really sick... Thought I was just some kind of toy..."

He started crying again, forcing his sobs to stay silent.

Souzou was furious. Of course, most of his anger was directed at whoever did this, but he was also angry at himself. If he had been there, Sanosuke would still have a father. Katsu would still have the innocence of his childhood. All his men would still be alive and their families would still have their fathers, sons, brothers and friends.

He tried to think of where the nearest town or city had been to the place where he had left his men. It had been Tokyo, right? Yes, it was definitely Tokyo.

'Well this is just perfect,' he thought sarcastically.

This just gave the yakuza another opportunity to go after Katsu since he had already been victimized. Not only that, but now Sano was in a dangerous situation as well. The only thing he could do was see if Midori wouldn't do what his note said. Knowing her, she probably wouldn't disappoint him. So when she got to Tokyo, he could explain the situation to her. She had grown up in Tokyo, so maybe she could help find Katsu's family.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Souzou knew his wife, alright. By sunrise, there was Midori in the restaraunt part of Akabeko. When Souzou saw his beloved's face again, he felt tears in his eyes. At first, Midori didn't see him. She didn't even know he was there until he wrapped his arms around her from behind. He nuzzled into her throat, taking a deep breath and inhaling her soothing sandalwood scent.

"Midori, I thought I told you not to come after me," he growled in her ear, his hot breath tickling her skin.

"And when have I ever let anyone tell me what to do?" asked Midori as she turned in his arms and kissed his cheek.

Souzou tightened his arms around her, lifting her off the floor and holding her as if he would never let her go. Midori's hands tightened into fists in the fabric of his jacket, her grip desperate. Souzou sighed, half worried, half contented.

"I should have known," he whispered, kissing her temple. "I should have known..."

Midori relaxed her grip and rested her head comfortably on Souzou's shoulder. He set her back down on the floor and gave her a sad smile. A single tear, one of both sorrow and joy, escaped from his eye and trailed down his cheek. Tenderly, Midori raised a hand to his face and brushed the little drop from his skin.

"You didn't know that you were followed, did you?" he asked, his sad smile still in place.

"What do you mean?" asked Midori, her face concerned.

"Sanosuke showed up yesterday," he answered flatly. "And Katsuhiro with him."

Midori gasped in shock.

"But I thought Katsuhiro was dead," she whispered. "When Sanosuke turned up in the middle of the night, he said he didn't get away..."

"He only wishes he was," Souzou said grimly. " And I think he would prefer I didn't tell you why."

Midori raised a hand to her mouth, her face still full of concern.

"When you go back home, will you take him with you along with Sanosuke?" asked Souzou. "I know he has family and I think they're in Tokyo, but I have no idea how to find them. And until we do, it's not safe for him to stay in Tokyo. That goes for Sanosuke too."

Midori nodded.

"I assume the two of them are still sleeping?" she asked.

"I think so," said Souzou. "If they aren't, we'll hear about it pretty soon."

Midori laughed a little. She wouldn't be surprised in the least if the two of them were awake and listening intently. At that moment, a sneeze followed by a muttered swear word confirmed her suspicions. Souzou turned around as a white-faced Sanosuke tried to sneak out from his hiding place in an empty booth. He gave them a sheepish grin and turned to run back to the room he and Katsu were sharing.

"Sanosuke," said Souzou, his tone telling the boy to stop right there.

Sano froze. He knew full well that he had been caught. Only this time he was on his own.

"Sorry, Captain Sagara," he said quietly, trying to get out of whatever was going to happen with the 'I'm-sorry-I-won't-do-it-again' trick. "I just wanted to know what's going on."

Souzou and Midori exchanged amused looks. They could see exactly what he was trying to do. Sanosuke thought he was really going to hear it now. He was seriously worried until he saw the sparkle of laughter in his former captain's eye. Souzou grinned and shook his head.

"Well, I don't think you're very likely to find anything out that way," he said with a smile. "Next time, don't get caught."

He ruffled the boy's hair, making it stick out more than usual, and gave his red bandanna a playful tug. Greatly relieved, Sano laughed and grinned back at the man he looked up to. Midori smiled and gave his shoulder a squeeze as she followed Souzou to his room.

Souzou slid the shoji closed behind him and watched Midori settle on a cushion. She didn't say a word, just watched her husband watching her. Their silence grew more and more tense until Souzou came and sat beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders. Midori finally broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Souzou, I'm begging you," she said in a shaking voice. "Please-"

"Midori, I can't," interrupted Souzou. "I have to regain the honor of the Sekihoutai and the honor of our family or die trying."

"Can't it wait any longer?" pleaded Midori.

Souzou shook his head, his face sad but determined.

"I'm afraid not," he said softly. "I've put it off for too long as it is. I should have gone the day after Sanosuke showed up. But I couldn't bear to leave you again so soon knowing that I would never come home."

Midori was trying as hard as she could not to cry.

"And with what happened, I now have to regain our honor for my father," continued Souzou, his voice bitter. "To let him rest in peace..."

"Oh, Souzou," said Midori, her voice scarcely more than a soft breath. "What happened?"

"He was murdered, that's what happened!" roared Souzou, his face darkening in rage and his temper flaring. "The whole town was burned to the ground and there were none left alive!"

Midori gasped and her hand flew to her heart. She had no idea what to say. She knew there wasn't really anything she could say that would be of any help. Gently, she shifted so that he lay cradled in her arms. With tender caresses, she stroked her husband's hair, running her fingers through the silky strands. Gradually his tension began to wind itself down and he started to relax at her touch.

"I'm so sorry, darling," whispered Midori, wishing there was some way she could comfort him. "Forgive me. I never thought... I just didn't know."

"No, don't apologize," said Souzou hoarsely. "There way no way you could have known."

He reached up to rest his hand on Midori's cheek, looking sadly into her eyes.

"Now do you see why I can't go home yet?" he asked, his voice becoming deep.

As tears streamed down her pretty face, though she made no sound, Midori nodded affirmatively. Inside, she was screaming at him, clinging to him and pleading with him not to leave her again. But she took his hand in hers, kissing his fingertips.

"I still don't want you to go," she said, her other hand clutching his jacket so hard her knuckles were white. "But I understand why you are. And I say..."

She stopped and swallowed hard, forcing back her tears.

"Do as you must," she whispered, her voice so soft and choked that it was just audible.

Souzou saw in his beloved's eyes that it was the hardest thing she had ever done to say those words to him. She could have begged him to stay with her, but she didn't. She told him to go ahead and do what he had to do. Souzou didn't think he had ever seen such a selfless act in his life, even on the battlefield. And he had seen many men give their lives for others. At least death by a sword was swift and for the most part painless, while a heart that has lost all hope will die slowly.

"Do you know what today is?" asked Midori, her voice soft and shaking as she abruptly changed the subject.

Souzou thought for a minute. It was the first day of March wasn't it? Yes, it had to be. As realization dawned on him, time seemed to freeze and his heart ceased to beat for a moment.

"It's Toshio's birthday," he said quietly, tears filling his dark brown eyes. "She's five now... Damn it, I wish I could see her! I mean, today of all days! I just want to see my daughter smile one more time... I swear, if I get out of this mess alive, I'll make it up to her somehow. I miss her so much..."

Midori wrapped her arms around Souzou and held him close. All she could do for him was continue to run her fingers through his hair and kiss his forehead. She knew there was a special bond between father and daughter. Her father had the same bond with her. He had that rare gift for keeping her close, yet allowing her to be her own person. That was why she was so hurt when he died. Her mother stepped in after that and insisted that she be a lady.

'And I still curse the first time I wore a kimono,' she thought bitterly.

Souzou forced his raging emotions to calm down and steadied himself to tell her the bad news.

"Midori," he started uncertainly. "I'm leaving Tokyo tomorrow after I find the people I was told are waiting for me. We'll reach Shimo-Suwa by sunset or later. From there we'll be heading for Kyoto."

Midori didn't bother to wipe her tears away, though Souzou tried to soothe her with soft kisses. He sat up and took her in his arms as she had done for him. He sighed deeply and nuzzled into her throat, so that his mouth was near her ear.

"Today is just barely starting," he said flatly. "As soon as you get something to eat, I want you to get Sano and Katsu up. Get them some breakfast and start for home. That way you can make pretty good progress by dark."

Midori began to sob, tightening her arms around Souzou. She pressed her face against his chest, her body shaking. Souzou sat silently, holding her tight and listening to her crying.

Soon, Midori's cries grew hoarse and she started relaxing involuntarily in Souzou's arms, feeling sick. Before she could cry herself to sleep, he tilted her head up and kissed her forehead. He managed to give her a sad smile before he started kissing her all over her face. After a soft, quick kiss on her lips, he rose to his feet, taking her with him and helping her stand.

"Come on," he said softly. "We're only making this harder on ourselves."

"I suppose you're right," Midori reluctantly agreed, her voice equally soft. "I'll be waiting for you when you come home."

'I'm still going to follow you,' she thought with grim determination. 'No matter what you tell me to do.'

"There's always a chance," said Souzou, sliding a hand under her chin and looking down into her beautiful violet eyes. "But don't get your hopes up, sweetheart."

He kissed her gently, smiled at her, and squeezed her hand. Their fingers touched briefly when he pulled his hand back. Then he turned away from her. Without a word and without looking back, he slid the shoji open and left the room.

That was the last time Midori saw her husband a free man. 


	21. The Remnant of the Sekihoutai

It was a silent, grim-looking group of eight that Souzou led out of Tokyo that afternoon.

T-chan had been left with Sanosuke. Toshio loved animals, so it was only right that her last birthday present from her father should be a pet. The little raccoon spent most of his time happily riding on Sano's shoulder. At first, Midori wasn't crazy about the idea of vermin in the house. But when T-chan headed straight for Katsu, who was still withdrawn and silent, and poked his nose into his ear, she thought it might be a good idea. It might help to comfort him. Again, T-chan proved himself when Katsu started laughing again.

The three of them, Midori, Sanosuke and Katsu, obviously had no intention of doing what Souzou told them.

Eight grave-faced young men continued silently on the road to Shimo-Suwa. Among them was Tae's brother, Touya Sekihara, and his best friend, Kyo Tsukimura. Both were Souzou's good friends. They were from the same town and and when they were growing up the three of them were always in trouble together. Reichi had always been Souzou's best friend, though, not to mention partner in crime.

The other five had brothers and fathers who had been killed in the massacre of the first troop of the Sekihoutai. The youngest of them all, a sixteen-year-old named Hideki Katano, had lost his three brothers. His father had also disappeared in the chaos. The only family he had left were his mother and his two little sisters, who were twins. He was going to fight to protect them.

Two of the remaining members were brothers who had somehow escaped from the massacre. The older one at eighteen, Aki, had been blinded in one eye. The younger, who was seventeen, Kojima, had sustained a serious wound in his shoulder. Now he had trouble holding a sword steady. They both knew they were just walking into their deaths. But they remained completely unafraid. The two of them were going to make sure the last members of the Sanjoin family would die as warriors.

Takashi Hongo, a striking figure of twenty-four years, had joined the Sekihoutai to fight for equality. He was a farmer's son and under the class system could only be a farmer. However, the woman he loved, and who loved him in return, was the daughter of a samurai. Though their love was never discovered, his beloved was forced into an arranged marriage. She despised the man and disappeared before their wedding night. She was found the next day with her new husband's dagger lying by her side. She had slit her wrists in the same secluded garden where she had given herself to the man she truly loved. Takashi had been the one who found her.

The eighth survivor was Reichi's younger brother Yumihiko. The lanky twenty-six-year-old was almost a mirror reflection of his late brother. Since his brother's death, he had become depressed and angry, never speaking to anyone but Souzou. He had also been wounded during the massacre. His knee had taken a bad hit and now he walked with a slight limp.

Souzou, of course, was leading what was left of the Sekihoutai. He felt terrible for once again walking away from his wife without a word. This time, he had not even said "I love you." He hoped Midori knew he still loved her. Something in him told him she did. Still, he hated himself for having to be so cold.

'I love you, Midori,' he thought. 'With all my heart. I hope you never, ever forget.'

There was no way he could have known that in less than two days he would be saying "I love you" for the very last time. 


	22. Sano's Concern

Midori, Sano, Katsu and T-chan left about three hours after Souzou. Midori of course led the way. Sano followed closely, with T-chan on his shoulder. Katsu hung back, keeping his eyes on the ground and talking only to himself. Sano was getting worried, more so than he had been. He dropped back a little to walk beside his best friend.

"Hey Katsu," he said quietly, getting Katsu's attention. "What's bothering you? Captain Sagara was right. I've never seen you act like this."

"Don't worry about it," Katsu said flatly.

Sano wasn't giving up that easily.

"Come on," he persisted. "You can tell me anything. What's got you like this?"

"It's nothing, alright?" snapped Katsu.

Sano was taken aback. He had seen Katsu angry before, but he had never reacted like that just to a question. He wanted to help his friend, but he couldn't unless Katsu told him what was wrong. And anyway, he didn't need to wind up with Katsu mad at him at a time like this. 


	23. Remembering

It was still bitterly cold for March and around dusk it started to snow. The remaining members of the Sekihoutai, minus Sano and Katsu of course, had tents put up and a fire going. Takashi was helping Hideki practice with his sword. Touya and Kyo were trying to lighten the mood around the little camp. They failed miserably, earning a disgusted look from Yumihiko. Souzou rolled his eyes at his friends' ill-recieved but well-meaning antics. Aki and Kojima were talking a little bit away from everyone else, their expressions grim and their voices hushed. Yumihiko took out a knife and pulled a fairly good-sized stick from the small pile of firewood. Quickly but carefully, he started carving what looked like it would turn out to be a flute.

Souzou was sitting alone on a rock, staring into the fire. At first glance, he looked as if he were deep in thought. However, anyone who looked closely could see the distress in his shining brown eyes. He hadn't said a word in hours and refused to touch any kind of food. It was nastily obvious to those around him that their captain was in a lot of pain, mental and emotional. They didn't blame him, knowing that he was the only one among them, now that Reichi was deceased, who had a wife and a family.

One by one, the members of the Sekihoutai started retiring to their tents. Touya and Kyo started a mock-fight over who was going to get which tent. They quickly cut the comedy as they were met with another disgusted glare from Yumihiko. No one else particularly cared. They were all used to the duo's random bouts of good-natured insanity. Souzou didn't notice anything at all. With the disturbance past, Yumihiko pulled out his knife again and returned to his carving.

Within minutes, the flute was finished. After admiring his work for a brief moment, Yumihiko brought his flute to his lips and began to play. Slowly, the soothing sound of a familiar tune roused Souzou from his nearly catatonic state. This song was one of Midori's favorites and Souzou remembered singing it to Toshio as a lullaby. For a while, he forgot everything but the image of his tiny daughter growing sleepy and nodding off in his arms. Barely aware of his own voice, he began to sing softly.

Kimi ga namida ni yureru toki #  
Dousureba iin darou Sora wo miagetemo Kokoro ga itai Kizu tsukanakute ii koto ni Dare mo ga fureteshimau Mizu no tsumetasa ni Odoroku toki no you ni Tonari ni iru dake de Nanimo dekinai kedo Arittake no egao kimi dake ni Kakaete okuruyo donna toki mo

Shinjite ii yo yume wa yattekuru Kimi no tame dake ni Naitemo ii yo donna kanashimi mo Tsubasa ni kawaru no sa sono mune de 

Souzou let his voice trail off on the last word. Yumihiko ceased his music as well, once again sitting in silence. A thin crescent moon caught Souzou's eye and he shifted his gaze from the fire to the moon. As he registered the shift, his eyes found Yumihiko's silent form. In an instant, he snapped fully back to reality with a start.

"Yumihiko? What the---" he stammered. "How long have you been sitting there?"

The younger man couldn't look at his brother's best friend. For a long time, he didn't speak. When he did, Souzou was absolutely mortified by his answer.

"As long as you have," he said softly.

Souzou turned bright red. Yumihiko saw this and gave his captain a rare smile. He pulled his flute out to where Souzou could see it. Souzou laughed nervously, one hand on the back of his head.

"So I wasn't just hearing that in my head," he said, his face still slightly flushed. "So I'm assuming you heard me, then?"

Yumihiko nodded, twirling his flute idly in his fingers.

"It was actually quite good," he said quietly. "I never knew you could do that..."

He paused for a second, swallowing hard.

"Did he... Did Reichi know about it?" he asked, his voice so soft it was barely audible.

Souzou thought for a moment and grinned at the memory he came up with.

"Well, I don't think I ever told him," he said slowly, wondering if he would regret saying more. "But I'm pretty sure there was one time he heard me... And I'll be damned if I ever so much as look at sake again..."

Yumihiko raised one eyebrow.

"Uh, how drunk were you?" he asked tentatively. "Because I think he may have mentioned it once..."

Souzou rolled his eyes, sighing and shaking his head.

"Let's just say that having a bad hangover doesn't even begin to cover it," he said, pressing his fingers to his temple to prove his point.

Yumihiko cringed.

"Oh, that," he said. "Yeah, he said something about that..."

Souzou tilted his head at Yumihiko, trying to remember something else.

"I don't think you were with us, were you?" he asked curiously.

Yumihiko shook his head.

"Can I ask why not?" asked Souzou.

"What!" yelped the younger man. "I was thirteen!"

Souzou laughed out loud at the indignant look on Yumihiko's face.

"Well so were Touya and Kyo and I think they were just as drunk as the rest of us," Souzou pointed out. "But it was probably a good idea that you didn't go..."

"The same goes for you," countered Yumihiko. "You and Reichi were sixteen and it still wasn't a good idea to get so dead drunk that you couldn't remember your own name."

Souzou's eyebrows were in danger of disappearing under his messy black bangs.

"So he was that bad?" he asked, geniunely in awe of his best friend's occasional stupidity.

Yumihiko nodded in the affirmative, shuddering at the memory.

"Damn, I drank more than he did and I still remember that night like it was yesterday!" exclaimed Souzou. "'Course, I did wake up thinking my ears were bleeding because of the pounding in my head. And the headache from the sake was nothing compared to the headache my father gave me..."

Yumihiko shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"You should consider yourself lucky," he said grimly. "When our father got through with Reichi, he rounded on me! Gave me the full lecture about 'Don't you let me catch you drunk or there will be hell to pay.' I don't think Reichi touched another drop of sake until the night before he proposed to Sadako. As far as I know, the alcohol didn't affect him in the least. He was so nervous he spent the rest of the night throwing up. It couldn't possibly have had time to do anything to him..."

Souzou looked up with a jolt as he heard a sound he hadn't heard since the last time he was away with the Sekihoutai. That had been before this whole mess started. Yumihiko was laughing for the first time since his brother's death. His laughter was brief and soon he was silent again, his face bearing an unreadable expression. He looked away into the trees that surrounded them. Souzou could have sworn he saw tears in the younger man's eyes.

Neither of them noticed that they had been talking all night. 


	24. Fateful Morning

Soon, a yawning Touya emerged from his tent. When he saw Souzou still sitting where he had been last night, he started to worry. He knew his friend, his captain, and knew that Souzou rarely, if ever showed stress when taking his role as leader. Without a moment's hesitation, he went over and sat down on a log beside Souzou.

"Captain," he said softly - though they were old friends, he always held Souzou in great respect as a leader. "What's bothering you? That is, if you don't mind my asking..."

Souzou looked at his friend with a sad smile.

"Just thinking, is all," he said vaguely.

Touya dropped his formality. At the moment, he was just looking out for a good friend. He put a firm hand on Souzou's shoulder, giving him a sympathetic smile.

"It's Midori, isn't it? You miss her, don't you?" he said, both more statements than questions. "Don't worry, Souzou. We'll find out what's going on and sort it out, no problem. We're all going to come out of this fine. You'll be home soon. We all will."

Souzou bowed his head and closed his eyes for a moment, imagining his family waiting for him. He missed them now more than ever. The next image in his mind was also that of his family. Only this time it was one of them grieving. His heart tightened like a clenched fist and terror ran through him.

"I'm just not so sure," he said quietly, his voice grim. "I have a bad feeling about this..."

"Ah, don't think like that, Souzou!" said Kyo, who had suddenly appeared at Souzou's other side. "That's what you call a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you think the worst is going to happen, then most likely it will!"

Souzou smiled at his two laid-back, easygoing friends. If he were seeing them for the first time, he would never believe that both of them were deadly killers when necessary. But he had seen Kyo, easily the most light-hearted, friendly man he knew, at the end of one of his battles. The mortally wounded man lay on the ground, slowly bleeding to death. Kyo gave the man an even look and lanced his sword straight through his heart. It ended quickly for him and he never felt it.

"Souzou? Souzou, hey!" said Kyo loudly, thwacking his friend on the head. "Wake up! We've got serious problems!"

Souzou had no clue how long he had been out of it, but he snapped back to reality instantly.

"What the-? What? Where?" sputtered Souzou, staggering to his feet.

"Just come on!" Kyo yelled over his shoulder, taking off at a run.

Souzou shook his head, just to clear it, and ran after Kyo. After what seemed like an eternity of nonstop sprinting, Kyo stopped at a clearing deep in the forest. Souzou nearly fell over him when he stopped short. When he caught his breath, he looked around for the problem and saw his men standing around, trying not to panic. The smell of blood hit his senses like a flying brick and he reeled for a second. When he found its source, his heart stopped for a second.

Hideki, the quiet sixteen-year-old, was lying motionless on the ground, cradled gently in Takashi's arms. He had taken a nasty-looking chest wound and he was having trouble breathing. If he was going to have any chance at living, he needed help fast.

"What in God's name happened to him?" asked Souzou, forcing his tone to remain calm.

"He couldn't tell us," said Takashi, his voice seriously grim. "As far as I can tell, it was a straight slash with a katana. I don't think it opened his lungs, but he's coughed up blood a few times. He's fighting with all he's got..."

"Touya, get him out of here and get that wrapped," said Souzou, falling back into his routine as a calm, decisive leader. "Do whatever you can to stop the bleeding."

Touya nodded curtly and carefully took the smaller boy in his arms. Hideki groaned softly in pain at being moved and clutched convulsively at his chest. His blood stained Touya's jacket and shirt. As soon as Touya was out of sight, thus putting the rest out of Hideki's earshot, Takashi spoke again. His words were anything but encouraging.

"I don't think he'll even make it back to camp," he said, so softly it was almost inaudible. "I just couldn't tell him."

Everyone was silent for a moment. None of them could look at each other. Souzou knew they were all thinking exactly the same thing: one of them should have gone with him. They should never have let him go alone.

A thought had been forming in Souzou's mind since Takashi said that Hideki's wound had been made by a katana. As the thought developed, his senses became more alert and his defenses rose, like the fur rising on a black cat's back. Finally, when he heard a crash out in the forest, he voiced his thought.

"If Hideki was alone," he said slowly. "How was he wounded by a katana?"

Takashi shifted uncomfortably.

"When he came out of there, he was already so far gone that he was barely able to speak at all," he said quietly, not looking at anyone.

There was an uncomfortable, tense, almost eerie silence.

"But he managed to say something about warning us," he went on. "I tried to ask what he was talking about, but that's when he collapsed."

"Then we all need to stay on the defensive at all times," Souzou said firmly. "Whatever happens, don't let your guard down."

A few seconds later, hoofbeats were heard echoing through the trees. Kyo and Aki instantly reached for their swords. Souzou held up his hand and shook his head. Takashi quickly got to his feet as the hoofbeats came closer. Everyone froze as a horse and rider came to a stop right in front of Souzou. They were all shocked at who the rider was. It was one of the government general's officers, Tatewaki Shindo.

"I assume you are the captain of Sekihoutai, troop one?" he asked Souzou in a cold voice.

Souzou nodded mutely, pushing his grief for Hideki aside. Once more, he became the calm, unshakeable leader. He gave Shindo a level stare and ignored his pounding heart.

"May I ask your purpose in being here?" he asked calmly.

A cruel smirk played on Shindo's mouth.

"I've come with some news for you direct from the government general," he replied with a tone that said he was really going to enjoy what he was going to say next. "You have been found guilty of spreading false rumors among the people and causing mass confusion."

"What?" growled Kojima, his temper threatening to flare.

Souzou held up his hand to prevent the seventeen-year-old from doing anything rash.

"Please explain the meaning of this," he said, his voice becoming cold as well.

"You have spread rumors of taxes being cut in half," replied Shindo, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world that the Sekihoutai was guilty. "Of course no such thing will be taking place. This has caused much chaos and your crime has been found inexcuseable."

Aki took a step forward to stand beside his younger brother.

"What are you saying?" he demanded, his voice dark growl and his face darkened in rage.

"What I'm saying is that you are all sentenced to death as of now," said Shindo, his voice mocking them. "Sekihoutai, troop one, and Captain Souzou Sagara, the new government thanks you for your service. You are dismissed." 


	25. First To Fall

At Shindo's last word, a troop of Imperialist soldiers emerged from the surrounding forest. He gave the word and the battle began. Souzou knew the Sekihoutai had been outnumbered before but in this situation the difference was almost laughable. In an instant, the six remaining members of the Sekihoutai had drawn their weapons. Though his heart was racing a mile a minute, Souzou bravely led his men to a fight they all knew in their hearts they would lose. But they weren't going without a fight.

Aki was the first to fall. He had been fighting off two of his opponents and was doing pretty well for himself. That is, he was until a third came at him from the side. It was his blind eye that did him in. As he ran his sword through the second man's throat, the first having already fallen, the third slashed him across his left side. He fell to the ground hard, crying out in pain as his blood stained the snow.

Kojima saw his brother fall and something inside him snapped. Rage gave him extra speed as he charged Aki's assailant. Within a split second, the man lay dead on the ground. He never saw his death coming at the hands of a grief-stricken seventeen-year-old boy. With that done, Kojima fell on his knees beside his brother.

"Aki! Aki, can you hear me?" he yelled frantically, gripping his brother's shoulders with desperate hands. "Aki, come on! Don't do this to me! You've got to hold on!"

Aki's one working eye fluttered open. His hand clutched at Kojima's jacket, clinging to it as if his brother could keep him alive. He could see his own blood all around him.

"Kojima? Is that you?" he asked, his voice quiet and hoarse. "Is that you?"

Kojima cradled his brother in his arms as Takashi had done for Hideki. With every second that ticked by, Aki was getting weaker and weaker, his life fading away fast. They both knew that he didn't have very long.

"Yes. Yes, Aki," Kojima said softly, his voice audible only to his brother above the rage of battle. "It's me..."

"Kojima," Aki whispered, smiling sadly as his vision started to cloud and darken. "I think I'm dying..."

The seventeen-year-old tightened his grip on his older brother.

"Don't say that!" he whispered fiercely. "Just don't..."

"Stay strong, Kojima," Aki said softly as he closed his one working eye. "Stay strong for me, won't you?"

He gasped for air one last time.

"Goodbye Kojima..." he said, his voice scarcely even a whisper.

His almost inaudible voice trailed off and he let out his last breath as a gentle sigh.

"Aki..." Kojima said quietly, his voice breaking because of his raging emotion. "Goodbye Aki..."

He held Aki's still body a moment longer, silently praying that he might use his brother's strength to help save his friends and comrades. He didn't care anymore if he lost his own life in the process. At least he would see his brother again. He stood up slowly and looked down at Aki's torn, bleeding body.

'I'll probably be joining you soon,' he thought.

He never even felt the katana that pierced his heart from behind him. He was only aware of drawing his last breath as the blade was roughly pulled from his back. He arched forward, then slumped over. His body fell lifeless beside his brother's.

Takashi became the third casualty on the Sekihoutai's side. He had taken a bad abdominal hit and was left for dead. Somehow he managed to get himself far away enough that he could pass on in peace. As he leaned against the old tree, his life draining away through a bloody hole in his stomach, he could see his love coming towards him. He smiled peacefully, the pain of his bleeding wound becoming nothing more than a dull sting. Soon, he saw the woman he loved reaching her hand down to him.

"Minako? Is it... really you?" he asked, his voice quiet and hopeful like a child's.

She smiled at him, caressing his cheek tenderly as she sat beside him.

"None other," she said softly. "It's time to go, Takashi. Now we can be together always..."

"I like that," Takashi said quietly, his eyes fluttering and his expression blissful.

For a moment, his happiness faltered.

"Is this real?" he whispered.

Minako stared into Takashi's eyes, deep green seeming to challenge smoldering red-brown.

"Would you like to prove that I'm real?" she purred, running a teasing finger over his lips.

Takashi nodded slowly, his eyes half-closed. Minako leaned in close, trying to press their bodies together. She stopped as Takashi winced, gasping in pain.

"Minako, don't," he whimpered.

She ran her hand up into his hair, settling in his lap and giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. At the gentle touch, Takashi felt his pain disappearing entirely. Thoroughly convinced that his beloved really was there to help him go on, he wrapped his arms around her. She willingly allowed herself to be pulled close to his chest. Where before he had felt cold and alone, he now felt warm and safe. He pressed his lips to hers in what could only be described as a soul-searing kiss.

When they reluctantly broke their kiss, Minako looked up at Takashi with a smile. Her face was prettily flushed and her lips pink and kiss-swollen. Her hair had become an unruly mane of midnight blue waves when his hands had come up to run through it. She laid in his arms for a long moment before she spoke again.

"We must go now," she said gently, taking his hand in hers. "Come with me..."

She stood up, never letting go of his hand. Takashi let her help him up. He drew a last deep breath as he got up, leaving that cold and bleeding body behind him. As he took Minako in his arms again, kissing all over her face as he had needed to do for so long, he felt warm. He knew he and his love would enter the next world in peace. This time, they would be together for eternity, never being forced to hide their love again. 


	26. Best Friends In Final Moments

Back at the Sekihoutai camp, Touya was working frantically to save Hideki's life. But it was to no avail. Hideki was still fighting, but he knew in the bottom of his heart that he was dying and there was nothing he could do about it. With one arm still firmly clamped around his chest, he reached out to touch Touya's arm.

"Don't bother," the boy whispered bitterly. "I'm as good as dead anyway."

Touya was surprised to hear such a harsh tone from a boy he had always heard to be soft-spoken and peaceful. He knelt beside the younger soldier's futon and looked down into Hideki's young face. Hideki looked up at Touya, at the only other member of the Sekihoutai he had looked up to as much as he had looked up to Takashi and Souzou.

"I'm just sorry I was caught off-guard..." he said quietly, his voice hard. "And I'm sorry for being so weak..."

"You're not weak," Touya admonished him. "You're incredibly strong. But I do know this:"

"What?" snapped Hideki, trying not to cry.

"Your strength wasn't meant for the battlefield," Touya said softly, his words enigmatic though his voice was comforting. "You were meant to heal, not to kill. I might not seem like the most serious person a lot of the time, but I know what I'm talking about. This isn't right. You shouldn't have to die here."

"Well there's nothing anybody can do about it now," stated Hideki, trying to keep his voice steady as his lower lip trembled. "Nothing..."

He looked up at Touya's face and broke down crying.

"My mother... My sisters..." he sobbed, his chest bleeding more heavily due to the violent spasms of his muscles caused by his crying. "I failed them... And now I can't even say goodbye!"

Touya didn't know what to say. He just couldn't bring himself to say what everyone in the Sekihoutai knew in their hearts to be true. Hideki was too young to have been on the battlefield in the first place. He was certainly no longer a child, but he was not yet a man either. He still needed his family to care for and protect him, not the other way around.

"I wish my mother was here," whispered Hideki, thinking Touya couldn't hear him. "But at the same time, I'm glad she's not... She doesn't need to worry about me..."

Touya tried to press a cotton pad to the open wound in Hideki's chest, but the younger boy swatted his hands away.

"She needs to take care of my sisters..." whimpered Hideki, trying to think only of his sisters though it was obvious he wished his mother could hold him as he lay dying. "She's all they have now..."

Hideki's voice cut off suddenly and his small body began to shake, not violently, but enough to render him silent. Touya knew immediately - had known all along - that the younger boy was in his final moments and his heart clenched. He wanted to do something, anything, to comfort him at the end of his life. In his usual unrestrained way, he cradled the young man in his arms, knowing his touch was not comforting as a mother's would be, but trying to help anyway. Hideki's life had been taken from him far too soon.

Touya looked down and bit his lip when he saw that the boy's wide grey eyes were beginning to droop. Hideki was no longer coherent, not really in the real world anymore, but he wasn't dead yet. His hands clutched convulsively at Touya's shirt, his grip like iron thread as a burst of fragile strength ripped through him, and his lips trembled as he struggled to speak.

"Mama..." he whispered weakly, his whole body shuddering.

The boy was delusional. He was seeing his mother in Touya's place, imagining that it was her comforting him as he passed on. She was telling him it was all right, that she didn't blame him in the slightest. He could hear his sisters' voices telling him they would miss their big brother and more tears flowed from his closed eyes.

"Goodbye Kiriko... Asako..." he whimpered, reaching up weakly to try and touch his sisters' faces one last time before he let his hand fall. "Goodbye... Mama..."

With that, Hideki drew his last breath and passed away peacefully in Touya's arms.

The Sekihoutai regained a tiny bit of their hope, if only briefly, when Touya rushed in and joined the fray. Of course, it also hurt them a little more. Now they knew that Hideki was no longer with them and they all in a way blamed themselves for his death. The four remaining members of the Sekihoutai resolved to fight all that much harder in honor of their comrades. That is, until Kyo had a katana thrust into his rib cage.

"Kyo!" yelled Touya, rushing to his friend's side. "Kyo, hang on!"

In a split second, three more Imperialists lay dead on the ground and Touya knelt beside the fallen Kyo. He had seen too much death already and the last thing he needed right now was to watch his best friend slip away in front of him. He took the fatally-wounded man in his arms, trying not to jar the gaping holes in his chest and back.

"Kyo, come on!" he begged frantically, trying to keep from shaking his friend. "Stay with me! We're almost out of this so you've got to hold on!"

Kyo tried to speak, but instead coughed harshly, spattering Touya's shirt and jacket with his blood. The bastard who had mortally wounded him had intentionally run his wicked blade through Kyo's right lung. He had missed his heart on purpose. Now Kyo was adding his blood to the stains in the snow as he lay dying in agony. His breathing was forcing blood from his chest up into his throat and mouth.

"Touya... Don't..." he said in a rasping voice, blood streaming from his lips.

"Are you crazy?" yelled Touya half-hysterically, tears coursing from his deep blue eyes and falling down his cheeks in salty rivulets. "I'm not just going to leave you here to die alone! There's no way I would!"

Kyo tried to lift his hand to the wound in his chest - he had been completely pierced through by the katana. Though he still clung to life, he found that he couldn't move his hand more than a few inches. When Touya saw what his dying friend was doing, he gently took hold of his hand and laid it over the open wound. Somehow, in a final burst of strength, Kyo took Touya's hand in a desperate grip and pulled himself to a sitting position.

"Touya, no matter what happens, you've got to live!" he rasped softly. "You've got to take care of Tae and Sae for me. Tell them I'm sorry for not showing them that I cared... Since I never had a family of my own, they were like a couple of little sisters to me too..."

"I'll tell them for you," whispered Touya, his tears falling on Kyo's wound as he leaned over the dying man. "I promise..."

Kyo smiled through his agony, though there were tears in his deep grey eyes as well.

"I never had a better friend in my life..." he said softly. "... than you..."

"Kyo! Don't do this!" yelled Touya, now totally in hysterics, gripping his best friend's hand as if he could keep him on Earth a bit longer. "No! Please, don't leave me! You're my best friend! KYO!"

"Goodbye Touya..." whispered Kyo, closing his eyes and sighing for the last time.

Souzou saw those last painful moments between two best friends and his heart clenched involuntarily. Had Reichi died alone and in agony? Was he finished off quickly or did he suffer for a long time? Souzou shook his head to clear away those thoughts and quickly offered a hand to help Touya up off the ground. Touya allowed Souzou to help him to his feet, though he was shaky for the first few seconds. He looked down at his best friend's body one last time before charging back into battle. Tears still shone in his blue eyes.

Seconds later, Touya turned around to see an Imperialist approaching Kyo's body with a drawn sword. Rage coursed through his being and the poor bastard was dead before he even knew Touya was there. Touya stood and protected his best friend from desecration until he too was mortally wounded.

Touya knew he was dying, but he stayed up with his sword in hand, daring anyone to get close to him.

"Don't bother finishing me off you dirty hypocritical pig," he growled at his attacker.

He looked the man straight in the eyes and ran the blade through his chest, killing him instantly - showing his own killer the mercy Kyo had not been allowed. Then his strength failed him and he fell to his knees, his hand over the open slash on his own chest. Though it had narrowly missed his heart, the wound would ultimately be fatal due to heavy blood loss. The first wound the Imperialist had inflicted, a wide gash on his upper abdomen, must have damaged his diaphragm. A shudder ran through his body and he doubled over, trembling and gasping for breath.

'Sorry Kyo,' he thought, his vision clouding over as the agony began to overwhelm him. 'Sorry I can't keep my promise... I'm so sorry...'

With that, a merciful bullet penetrated his temple, instantly putting him out of his misery. 


	27. Last Man Standing

Only Souzou and Yumihiko were left. Yumihiko was cut and bruised but he was still on his feet. Souzou had taken quite a few hits, some worse than others. His whole body felt like it was on fire, his heart pounding and his arms aching. Blood, his and his enemies', stained his clothes. The smell of blood was starting to get to him, making him feel sick to his stomach.

"Souzou, look out!" Yumihiko yelled in panic. "Behind you!"

Souzou turned around a split second too late. He heard the gunshot clearly but at first wasn't aware of any pain. The bullet had gone in a few inches from his heart, just under his left collar bone. When he brought his hand away from the wound and found his fingers covered in blood, his systems finally registered the hit. All of a sudden he found himself falling down on one knee, clutching his shoulder as a wave of agony washed over him. He could feel the sickening warmth of his own blood running down his sweating chest as he pushed himself slowly to his feet.

Yumihiko raced to his captain's side, swiftly cutting down the Imperialist threatening him with a rage that seemed to emanate from his body. Fighting one-handed was getting harder and harder for Souzou as the pain of the bullet lodged in his shoulder started becoming unbearable. He was wounded twice more before Yumihiko could help him. The first merely nicked him, but knocked his sword from his failing grip. The second was a short slash straight across the gunshot wound in his shoulder, sending him crashing to the ground in agony once again.

"Souzou!" yelled Yumihiko, slaying two with one blow.

He turned and fell down on his knees beside his brother's best friend.

"Souzou, come on!" he begged. "Get up!"

He grabbed Souzou's hand and pulled him to his knees. Unable to stop himself, Souzou let tears of pain escape from his eyes. He gripped Yumihiko's hand desperately, the pain becoming too much for him. Yumihiko stood up, trying to at least get Souzou on his feet.

"You've got to get up!" he yelled, panic rising higher in his chest. "Souzou, if you don't get up, we're both going to die here!"

Thinking of his family - desperately wishing to see them one more time, Souzou gripped his shoulder, clenched his teeth and forced himself up off his knees. He had only his short sword left and was almost blinded by the pain of his wound. Yumihiko held out his own short sword, figuring two short swords might counter one long. For a while, adrenaline acted as Souzou's painkiller. That is, until he heard a blood-curdling yell of agony behind him.

'It can't be...' he thought in desperation, turning around just in time to watch Yumihiko fall to the snow-covered ground on his side.

A bullet was lodged in his stomach.

"Yumihiko!" he cried. "No!"

Still running on adrenaline, Souzou dashed to Yumihiko's aid and quickly killed his attacker. He fell on his knees by his young friend's side. Gently, he cradled the mortally wounded man in his arms, trying to bring some comfort to his last moments. Yumihiko opened pain-glazed eyes to see snowflakes falling gently around him. Soon, Souzou's blood- and tear-streaked face came into a sort of bleary focus.

"Souzou..." he whispered hoarsely. "I'm sorry Souzou..."

Souzou's eyes trailed down to the heavily bleeding wound in his friend's stomach.

"Don't be," he said softly, holding his best friend's dying brother a little tighter. "I'm the one who should be sorry and I am. You just relax now... Rest... Think about seeing Reichi again..."

"But I failed you, Captain," Yumihiko said quietly, a tear escaping from his eye. "I didn't protect you..."

"You didn't fail me," Souzou insisted gently. "And even if you did, I would forgive you."

Yumihiko smiled through his pain and tears.

"Thank you Captain," he said softly.

Souzou shook his head, a sad smile on his lips.

"Oh... I mean... thank you Souzou," Yumihiko corrected himself, his eyes shining with tears.

He coughed hard, his whole body shuddering in Souzou's arms.

"It's no problem," whispered Souzou.

"I can see Reichi, telling me it's time to go," Yumihiko said almost inaudibly. "Goodbye Captain Sagara... Souzou..."

"Goodbye... Yumihiko..." Souzou said to the young man as he drew his last breath and died in his arms.

Sadly, letting go of Yumihiko's lifeless body, Souzou pushed himself to his feet. He was lost, with no idea what to expect next. His friends were all dead now and he believed that it was all his fault. He reached down and picked up the short sword Yumihiko had given him, the sword that had saved his life.

When he straightened up, he felt the point of a sword on his back.

"Drop it, Sagara," said a rough voice.

Souzou's eyes widened for a moment as he froze briefly in fear and then dropped the short sword quickly. He had lost everything and now there was no way of avoiding his fate. There was no point in fighting anymore. His shoulders fell in defeat, aggravating his wound. He bowed his head, silently apologizing to his fallen friends.

He gave no resistance as his hands were tied behind his back. An order was given and the captain of the Sekihoutai was led away. His heart sank, knowing he had only one place to go from here. His eyes clouded, but he refused to let his captors see him cry. Squaring his shoulders, he held his head high, determined to take this like a man.

'Midori, I hope we'll meet again in heaven,' he thought, looking up to the sky. 'Because it looks like I'll be going soon...'

He wasn't aware of how long he was forced to keep walking, he just knew that he was dead tired when he stopped. A shudder ran through him as he looked at the place where he would spend his last night on earth. He gave a heavy sigh of both defeat and relief as the rope binding his hands was cut - one of his wrists was bleeding where the rope had cut into it. The barred iron door was opened and he was roughly shoved inside.

As the door shut, he fell to his knees. Silently, from the bottom of his heart, he started praying harder than he ever had in his life. He prayed for his own soul, for the souls of his fallen friends and for his family. His heart was pounding, his mind numbed by the events of the day.

Realizing that the floor he knelt on was nothing but damp earth, he pushed himself to his feet, located a bench and sat down.

'I wish I could see Toshio again,' he thought sadly, visualizing his family as best he could in his pain-hazed mind. 'I hope she and Sanosuke will one day understand this... And Midori... Oh I just wish I could hold her, kiss her... and tell her I love her one last time...' 


	28. Last Goodbyes

Midori slid the shoji closed behind her with barely a sound as she crept out of her room in the town's tiny inn. Sano and Katsu were sound asleep in their own room, both of them finally exhausted by stress. T-chan was sleeping curled up beside Sano's pillow, his furry ringed tail tickling the boy's cheek every now and then. Fighting back tears, Midori walked out into the snowy, starry night.

'I don't believe this,' she thought numbly. 'How could they?'

Slowly, she approached the guard house, her heart pounding in her throat. A young man of about twenty-five stopped her with a gentle hand on her shoulder. She froze, hoping he would at least let her see her husband.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but, what are you doing?" the young soldier asked quietly.

Midori looked up and saw that he had a kind face, almost too kind to be a soldier in horrible times like these. She stopped bothering to keep her tears hidden and let them flow freely down her stress-paled face. In this case, playing the role of an innocent, despairing woman to its fullest could work to her advantage.

"Is this where Captain Souzou Sagara is being held?" she asked in a soft voice, her violet eyes wide and brimming with tears. "If it is, I must see him!"

The soldier looked down at her sadly, his brown eyes - which reminded her strongly of Souzou's - glimmering in the starlight.

"I'm afraid not, ma'am," he said gently, but firmly. "He's allowed no visitors."

Midori burst into tears once more, falling on her knees and staring up at the guard with beseeching eyes. Shaking his head, he pulled her to her feet and laid a steadying hand on one thin, almost bony shoulder. He tried to remain in control and unshakeable.

"What reason would you have for visiting this criminal?" he asked quietly.

Midori gripped his hand, her body shaking with the force of her heart-wrenching sobs.

"Please sir, let me see him one last time," she begged, falling to her knees again and doubling over with her hands over her eyes. "Criminal or not, he's still my husband and I still love him!"

The young man's heart clenched. His resolve crumbled and fell away as the woman in front of him pushed herself to her feet and turned away, her head hung in defeat. Knowing full well what the consequences to him would be, he took hold of her shoulder. She stopped and looked up at him with tears in her eyes and on her face. Against his better judgment, he smiled at her and took her hand.

"This way," he said softly, leading her to her beloved. "I'll give you some peace and quiet."

They stopped in front of the barred iron door. Midori looked up at the kind young man and gave him a sad smile. He smiled back, his heart aching for her.

'Father always said I was too soft-hearted to be a soldier,' he thought.

"Thank you so much sir," whispered Midori, tears still glistening in her violet eyes. "You don't know how much this means to me..."

The tender-hearted young man smiled sadly, tipped his hat and disappeared into the night, trying to hide the tears in his own eyes.

Tentatively, Midori approached the barred door, afraid of the condition Souzou might be in. She saw him sitting there, cold and battered, staring into the darkness. She leaned against the icy metal, tears filling her eyes again.

"Souzou," she called softly. "Souzou, are you alright?"

Souzou looked up slowly, shaking his head in disbelief. Dazedly looking around the eight-by-ten room, his gaze fell on the door. His dark brown eyes lit up in wonder and pure joy as they met Midori's tear-filled ones. He staggered to his feet, one hand on his wounded shoulder, and limped to the door as fast as he could.

"Midori!" he exclaimed, his voice hoarse. "I'm either dreaming or already dead..."

Midori took hold of her husband's hand and brought it close to her face. She kissed his hand over and over, her warm tears falling on his near-frozen skin. The skin of his hand was icy cold against her lips.

"No Souzou," she said quietly. "This is real. I'm right here. I don't believe this! What are they saying you did?"

Souzou smiled gently, taking his hand from Midori's grasp and reaching out to stroke her cheek. Tenderly, he brushed warm tears away from her smooth skin. The slight warmth of her tears on his skin made his nearly frozen hand tingle.

"It doesn't matter now," he whispered, his voice calm and steady. "Tomorrow morning is the end for me no matter what anyone says."

"They can't condemn an innocent man!" sobbed Midori, holding his hand against her cheek with hers.

"It's been done before and it'll happen again," Souzou replied grimly. "At least I get to see you one last time before I go."

He pulled his hand away from his wounded shoulder. Though his hand was covered in blood and his shoulder throbbed, he reached through the bars and pulled Midori close. He wished he could feel her body pressed against his own one more time. He needed her warmth to soothe the terror in his mind and the pain in his heart.

"I love you, Midori," he whispered in her ear. "I love you so much..."

Midori reached back to return his embrace. It was then that she found that her beloved was shaking - not violently, just fine tremors that made his lips quiver. She looked at his face, pale in fear, cut and bruised, and saw that he was crying silently. Tears streamed down his blood-streaked cheeks as he held her tight.

"I love you too, Souzou," she whispered back, leaning forward to kiss the tip of his nose. "So much more than I can put in words..."

Souzou smiled through his tears, but only for a moment.

"I'm scared, Midori," he said softly, his voice shaking as much as his body. "I'm so scared... Absolutely terrified... I don't want to die... I want to go home with my family... I want to be with you again... To make love to you so sweetly that you purr like a kitten... I wish none of this had ever happened..."

Midori kissed away her husband's tears, her lips touching him all over his face. With each soft, quick kiss, she not only tasted the salt of his tears but the coppery bitterness of his blood. Souzou leaned into her tender caresses and his wounded shoulder hit one of the bars. He jerked back with a soft cry of pain, his hand at his shoulder once more.

"What is it, Souzou?" asked Midori, worry in her voice, though there was nothing she could do to ease his pain.

He slowly pulled his hand from his wound, exposing the bleeding bullet hole and the slash across it. Midori gasped and reached for his blood-covered hand. He gave a small sob in pain and brought his hand to cover hers. The warmth of his blood made Midori's stomach turn.

"They pulled guns on us," Souzou said grimly. "Touya took a bullet to his temple. Died instantly. Yumihiko was shot too. In his stomach... He was trying to protect me after I got hit."

"Was it... over quickly?" asked Midori.

Souzou shook his head sadly.

"He was in agony," he said quietly. "At least I was able to bring some peace to his last moments. I don't think he died in pain though. He said he could see Reichi again and his face was peaceful..."

Midori blinked a tear out of her eye.

"You did what you could for him," she said gently, caressing his cheek. "I only wish there was something, anything I could do for you."

Souzou held Midori's hand against his cheek, comforting himself with the warmth of her skin.

"There is something you can do for me," he said, his voice shaking a little.

"What is it?" asked Midori, tears still trailing down her face. "I promise, I'll do anything."

A single tear rolled down Souzou's bruised, half-frozen cheek.

"One day, when Toshio is older, I want you to explain this whole thing to her," he whispered, his voice cracking with emotion. "For right now, just tell her I love her and that I'll always be watching over her."

He paused for a second, forcing himself not to break down. Slowly, he pulled the red bandanna from his hair.

"When she starts to cry, tell her what I always told her, that her face is too pretty for tears," he continued, tears streaming from his dark brown eyes. "And tell her that she'll always be her daddy's girl, even though I'm in heaven."

He held the bandanna out to Midori.

"And put this on that rabbit of hers," he said, smiling sadly. "It looks like it's been through a war. Tell her it's a gift from me..."

Midori gasped for air for a second, her sobs constricting her chest, then nodded her head as she took the red cloth from his hand.

"I'll tell her, Souzou," she said in a soft, shaky voice. "I swear it."

Souzou reached through the bars again, pulling Midori close and pressing himself against the icy cold metal.

"Midori, lean in close to me, sweetheart," he purred, a romantic to the very end. "I just want to kiss your cheek one last time before I die."

She leaned in closer and felt ice against her skin. Her tears had frozen on the iron bars that separated her from the man she loved. Souzou brushed the ice away and pressed closer, leaning down.

"I wish I could do more," he whispered. "I wish I could put my arms around you and kiss you breathless."

With that, he brushed his lips against her cheek. He was half frozen, so his mouth was tinged slightly blue and felt like ice on her skin. But as he continued caressing her face with his lips, they once again became pleasantly warm. Tenderly, he pressed his mouth to her temple, flickering his tongue over her skin. Midori gave a small gasp at her husband's last intimate touch. One more long, hot kiss on her temple and he reluctantly pulled back.

"I love you, Midori," he murmured.

Tears squeezed out of Midori's eyes, streaming down her cheeks.

"I love you too, Souzou," she whispered.

Souzou reached out and pulled Midori's hand to his heart.

"Forever and ever," he said softly.

"Always," sobbed Midori.

Frantically running footsteps were heard coming towards them. That same kind young soldier who had helped Midori was pelting down the narrow way at top speed. His face was white and he looked panicked. He skidded to a stop beside Midori, panting.

"Excuse me, ma'am," he said quietly, his breath still short. "But I'm afraid that if you're caught here, you will face deadly consequences."

He swallowed hard.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking at the ground.

Souzou and Midori realized that it was dawn. Midori fell against the iron door, sobbing her heart out. Her hand tightened into a fist in the material of Souzou's blood-stained shirt. He held one hand over her clenched fist, pressing it to his heart. Then he reached his other hand out through the bars. Gently, he tilted Midori's face up to his. Tearful violet eyes stared up at him. He smiled peacefully at her.

"I love you," he said softly. "Goodbye Midori..."

"Souzou," whispered Midori. "I love you too..."

She couldn't bring herself to say goodbye. It was just too final. To say it would be to admit it was real and she wasn't ready to do that.

Souzou gently coaxed Midori's grip to loosen and brought her hand from his heart to his lips. Tenderly, he kissed each of her fingertips, her palm and the back of her hand. Slowly he let go and she reluctantly pulled her hand back, their fingertips caressing each other for the last time. He smiled and blew a kiss to his beloved wife. She gave him a ghost of a smile, her hand over her heart. A single crystalline tear fell from her eye then dropped off her cheek.

The young soldier put a gentle hand on Midori's shoulder. She took one last look at her husband. Souzou smiled at her, the kind that he knew could melt her heart in an instant. Or in this case, break it. A shudder ran through her body as the soldier slowly urged her to turn around. With a heavy heart, he escorted her back to the inn.

"I think it would be best if you didn't see this," he said softly.

Still crying, Midori shook her head.

"No," she said tonelessly. "I'll be there for him. I promised a long time ago that he wouldn't die without me there to comfort him. I have never broken a promise to him and I won't now, when he needs me most."

The kind man gave her shoulder a supportive squeeze.

"If you're sure," he whispered. "Take care of yourself, alright?"

Midori nodded.

"I'll go with you if you think you'll need---" he offered, but Midori cut him off.

"No," she said again, still tonelessly. "I'd rather go alone."

Midori turned and walked away, slowly making her way to her loving husband's execution. 


	29. Let It Not Be True

Sanosuke had lain awake most of the night. He had heard the talk around the inn about the false Imperial army. He also heard Midori crying softly in the other room until she thought he and Katsu were asleep. Was it true? Had the Sekihoutai really done anything wrong? It couldn't be possible... He had to see for himself if it was true.

Quickly, he got up, dressed, and put a very sleepy T-chan on his shoulder, ignoring the cold nose the raccoon stuck in his ear. Then he knelt beside Katsu's futon, poking him over and over until he woke up. Katsu turned over, yawning and rubbing his eyes. Slowly, he sat up and looked around.

"Huh? What?" he asked sleepily.

"Katsu, get up!" hissed Sano. "Aunt Midori isn't here anymore..."

He took hold of Katsu's arm with the intention of hauling him to his feet. Katsu swatted Sano's hand away and reluctantly left the warmth of his futon. He got even more irritated at Sano for taking hold of his wrist and hurrying both of them out the door.

"What about breakfast?" he grumbled.

Sano ignored him, dashing out into the crowded street. He looked around frantically, trying to find Midori in the crowd. He skidded to a stop as a thought hit him. Quickly, he tugged on a middle-aged woman's sleeve. She stopped and looked down at him.

"Is there a problem, son?" she asked kindly.

"Ma'am, do you know why everything is so crowded so early?" asked Sanosuke.

The woman's face looked uneasy for a moment and she bit her lip.

"I think you two need to go home," she said gently. "This isn't something children need to see."

Sano's eyes widened and Katsu frowned, looking worried.

"Please, ma'am, somebody I know is out here and I really need to find her," begged Sanosuke, his big brown eyes filling with tears.

The woman couldn't meet his eyes for very long.

"It's... a public execution," she said grimly. "I'd seriously recommend that you go home, both of you."

"Oh my God," whispered Katsu.

For a moment, Sanosuke acted as if he were going to do as the woman said. But as soon as she was out of sight, he grabbed Katsu's wrist and the two of them set off at a run. Both boys prayed silently over and over that the condemned wouldn't be who they feared it was.

'Captain Sagara...' thought Sano, his mind racing. 'Say it's not true... Please... Let it not be true...' 


	30. And The Deed Was Done

Midori was right in front of the stand, unaware of and unnoticed by the gossiping crowd around her. She was forcing back tears with all the strength she had. Her heart was on the snowy ground, broken, and she had neither the strength nor the desire to pick it up again. She swallowed hard, the tears in her eyes threatening to escape.

'This is so wrong,' she thought numbly. 'To kill an innocent man because the government can't keep their promises... It's wrong to start with, but why does it have to be Souzou? He isn't a criminal! He's the sweetest, gentlest man alive! How could they take him away like this!?'

All of a sudden, the entire crowd went quiet, with only a few bold whispers ringing out, each word audible to everyone, and none of them positive. Shuddering slightly, Midori turned around to see through tear-clouded eyes what they had only come to gawk at. As the crowd parted, the whispers grew louder, the people buzzing like blueflies. Midori was stunned at the condition Souzou was in. She knew it was bad when she saw him last night, but looking at the full extent of it, she gasped aloud. No one noticed or cared.

Souzou looked like he had been beaten half to death, dark bruises all over him. His body quivered every so often, as though he had nerve damage. He still wore the uniform of the Sekihoutai, but it was stained with blood - his own, his enemies' and his best friends'. To Midori, though, he still looked handsome in that uniform. His bandanna was still wrapped around her hand.

His hands were tied behind his back, as if they expected him to resist. Anyone who looked at his face could see that he had no intention of doing any such thing. He carried himself almost proudly, for a man being led to his execution, his shoulders back and his head high.

Though he was dying the death of a criminal, it was clear that he was going to take it as a warrior.

Inside, however, Souzou was a far cry from his calm and collected look. Quite the contrary, he was a nervous wreck. His heart clenched in terror, his whole life's memories flashing in his mind. With each step he took, he hoped he would just die of fright right then and there. The bullet wound in his shoulder burned in pain.

Pain... It took all the control he had in him to keep himself from visibly shuddering at the mere thought of the word. He remembered how much pain Reika had been in as she lay dying in his arms. Would it hurt at all for him? Or would it all be over in one clean stroke? Would he feel the cold blade slicing into his throat? His stomach turned and all of a sudden he felt very sick.

'Reika,' he thought, his mind slowly losing track of coherent thought as fear overwhelmed him. 'I'll be with you again soon...'

As they led him up onto the stand, he saw the sword in the hands of his executioner. The edge of the blade glinted wickedly in the pale early-morning sunlight. His stomach clenched and he would have vomited had he eaten anything in the past two days. Would it really be so bad to just faint right now and have them get it over with? He swallowed hard, forcing the morbidly welcome thought out of his mind.

'Coward,' he mentally berated himself. 'Just yesterday you knew you were walking into your death and now you're afraid of it...'

As the rough hands forced him down on his knees, he looked out at the crowd. The first people he recognized were Sano and Katsu, standing dead still at the back of the crowd. Their eyes and mouths were wide in horror and shock. His heart tightened painfully at the thought of how this would hurt them.

Then he saw Midori. He could have sworn his heart stopped right then. Their eyes met and a tear escaped from Souzou's eye. Midori had tears streaming down her face. Souzou knew it must be killing her to watch this, yet keep her sobs silent for the sake of his honor. He wished he could take his wife in his arms and kiss away her tears. He wished he had never agreed to lead the Sekihoutai in the first place.

Silently, his lips formed the words "I love you" and he smiled at Midori for the last time.

"I love you too, Souzou," whispered Midori, though she knew he couldn't hear her.

He didn't need to hear her. Each of her tears, now and all the times she cried in his arms, all of them said "I love you" to him. Souzou felt warm inside. He could see his wife's face and he knew she loved him, so he could die with a clear heart. Closing his dark brown eyes, Souzou bowed his head to the sword.

Midori froze in horror as the executioner raised his sword to complete his job. She wanted to close her eyes, to fall on her knees and scream, but she stood there, transfixed. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl around her. In a split second, the blade flashed in the light.

The deed was done.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About an hour later, after all the crowds had drifted away, Midori still stood in front if the execution stand, looking up at what no one should ever have to see. Tears, still silent, were rolling down her cheeks. The grey, half-melted snow now bore an ominous dark red stain. A raindrop fell on Midori's face, mixing with her tears, then another and another. Soon it was pouring rain. Thunder crashed and lightning split the sky.

The first rain of spring washed Souzou's blood from the ground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


End file.
